Aliyev said he regretted that ‘some circles’ in Russia had tried to hush up the truth about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines planes by sowing false narratives about the causes of the crash.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people had been damaged due to shooting from the ground in Russia, Azerbaijan state television reported, as reported by news agency Reuters.

Aliyev said he regretted that “some circles” in Russia had tried to hush up the truth about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines planes by sowing false narratives about the causes of the crash.

Aliyev said Baku regretted that Moscow “put forward theories” that “clearly showed the Russian side wanted to cover” up the issue. “Admitting guilt, apologising in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this –- all these were measures and steps that should have been taken.”

“The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control,” Aliyev told state media. “At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged.”