 "Thirty-eight people died when the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on 25 December in Kazakhstan. Western experts said the jet was probably shot at from Russia. Reuters File")
Baku is preparing to file an appeal with an international court over Russia’s alleged downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet that killed 38 people, according to The Guardian report, citing the APA news agency, which has ties to the Azerbaijani government
This marks a rare standoff with the Kremlin, highlighting Russia’s declining influence in the former Soviet Union.
On December 25, 38 people lost their lives when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan after rerouting over the Caspian Sea from southern Russia.
Following the incident, Azerbaijan’s authoritarian president, Ilham Aliyev, accused Russia of accidentally shooting down the aircraft with its air defence systems and criticised Moscow for attempting to “hush up” the situation for several days, which he claimed caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation” in Baku.
Russian President Vladimir Putin later issued a rare apology for the “tragic incident,” but did not acknowledge Russia’s responsibility.
In the weeks that followed, Moscow has faced challenges in easing tensions with the oil-rich nation on its southern border, reported The Guardian.
“Facts and evidence are being collected, and preparations are under way to appeal to an international court,” The Guardian report quoted APA as writing in an article laced with scathing accusations of Moscow’s attempts “to evade responsibility”.
“The identity of those who gave the order to fire and those who opened fire is known to the Azerbaijani side … The Russian side intends to create a ‘Malaysia Boeing-2’ situation,” the article added, referencing Russia’s efforts to deny responsibility for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which investigators concluded was shot down over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian militias.
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More ShortsAPA added that unless Moscow openly admitted guilt and took responsibility, Baku would take further steps.
The article, which observers believe likely received approval from local authorities in tightly controlled Azerbaijan, was published a day after Kazakh officials reported that the plane had sustained external damage and had multiple holes in its fuselage.
The report was carefully worded and did not specify the cause of the damage, which affected the plane’s stabilizers, hydraulics, and trim systems.
Western experts have suggested that the aircraft was likely shot at from Russia.
In response to the Kazakh report, the Kremlin said it was too early to reach any conclusions.
Moscow’s ongoing silence has frustrated officials in Azerbaijan.
“We would have expected Russia to publicly take responsibility for shooting down the plane and compensate the victims,” The Guardian quoted a source in the Azerbaijani foreign policy establishment as saying.
“Instead, Russia just ignores the crash, hoping it would go away. It is condescending, they are looking down on us,” the source added.
On Thursday, tensions escalated as Azerbaijan ordered the closure of the Russian House cultural center in Baku, operated by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian federal agency viewed as a tool for soft power and suspected espionage.
Simultaneously, Azerbaijani state media reported a rare shipment of non-military aid to Ukraine. This spat with Moscow highlights Russia’s diminishing influence in the region, as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted former allies to reassess their ties, reported The Guardian.
Armenia, Azerbaijan’s long-time rival, openly broke with the Kremlin after Russian peacekeepers failed to prevent Azerbaijani control of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Armenia has since left the Russia-led CSTO and is seeking closer ties with the West, even signaling intentions for EU membership.
In Georgia, protests have erupted over the government’s proximity to Moscow, but Azerbaijan had previously maintained a closer relationship with Russia. However, the recent plane crash has strained those ties significantly.
Buoyed by its victory over Armenia, Azerbaijan is increasingly willing to challenge Moscow, supported by its rising economic clout from the EU’s shift away from Russian energy. Despite this assertiveness, Azerbaijan and Russia remain economically intertwined, with Azerbaijan serving as a crucial transit hub for Moscow amid sanctions.
Some in Moscow believe that a sincere apology could help defuse the current tensions.
“Azerbaijan is not entirely satisfied with the response of the Russian authorities to the plane crash. The fact is, it is absolutely clear that the plane was shot down by Russian air defences – by mistake, of course – but still shot down,” The Guardian quoted Sergei Markov, a Russian political analyst close to the Kremlin, as saying.
“If Russia apologises, Azerbaijan will gladly put the issue to rest,” he added.
Others are not so sure.
“It is evident that Baku will continue to look for reasons to escalate tensions with Russia,” the report quoted Mikhail Zvinchuk, a Russian military analyst with links to the defence ministry, as writing.
“The crash of the Azal plane has merely served as a pretext to reinforce previously hidden grievances,” Zvinchuk added.
With inputs from agencies