Zakharova predicts failure of attempts to "catch luck" in connection with the conflict around the Embraer crash
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova commented on the tension that arose in relations between Moscow and Baku against the backdrop of the high-profile air crash. She is convinced that attempts to "drive wedges" between the two countries with "such a common history" will not be successful.
"A lot of people want to catch some kind of luck in this, but it will not be luck, because attempts to drive wedges between peoples, between countries that have such a common history, such a zone of responsibility, including regional, and such development prospects - all this is doomed to failure," Zakharova said at a briefing.
The diplomat emphasized that Russia is "ready to resolve such problematic issues in a constructive manner" in relations with Azerbaijan.
Recall that on December 25 last year, the Azerbaijani passenger airliner Embraer 190, flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. It is known that there were 67 people on board, of which 42 were citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 of Russia, 6 of Kazakhstan and 3 of Kyrgyzstan. 29 passengers survived.
The official causes of the disaster have not yet been announced, but the dominant version is that the plane came under fire from Russian air defense systems during an attack by Ukrainian drones on the territory of Chechnya. This is the opinion of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in connection with which he demands that Russia admit guilt, punish the perpetrators and pay compensation.
On February 4, the Reuters news agency, citing sources in the Azerbaijani government, reported that Baku has evidence of the downing of the Embraer airliner by the Russian Pantsir air defense system, namely, a fragment of a missile. Soon after, it became known that the Azerbaijani authorities intended to file a lawsuit in an international court over the plane crash. Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to his press secretary, does not plan to comment on the situation.
