Russians Admit Downing Azerbaijani Plane: 38 Dead, Moscow to Pay Compensation (PHOTO)
Russia will pay compensation to Azerbaijan for the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane in December 2024.
TL;DR
- Russia will compensate Azerbaijan for a passenger plane crash in December 2024.
- The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
- The crash occurred while Russian air defense was intercepting Ukrainian drones over the Caucasus region.
- Moscow initially denied responsibility but later admitted its air defense missiles exploded near the plane.
- The compensation amount and timeline are not specified.
- Azerbaijan had threatened to appeal to international courts.
- Prior to the compensation agreement, diplomatic tensions were heightened by separate arrests of citizens from both countries.
- Russian President Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Aliyev, stating the missiles did not directly hit the plane but caused damage through fragments.
- Putin described the damage as similar to a bird strike, which the pilot had reported.