Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Russia is behind the Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 of the 67 people aboard. The motives of the incident remain unclear.

By Nailia Bagirova and Anton Kolodyazhnyy BAKU/MOSCOW (Reuters) -Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that a passenger plane that crashed last week, killing 38 people, had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia,

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has demanded a full admission of responsibility from Russia for causing the recent Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan and has called for those responsible to be punished.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blasted Russia for putting forward “absurd” theories initially and said Moscow must compensate victims’ families.

A criminal investigation was under way into the passenger plane crash early on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 people, Azerbaijan’s leader said.View on euronews

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.