Kazakhstan plane crash: Azerbaijan’s leader accuses Russia of “cover up”
CNNHong Kong CNN — Azerbaijan’s leader has accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors. While meeting on Monday with the two surviving flight attendants and families of other crew members that died, President Ilham Aliyev said the preliminary investigation into the crash had confirmed that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses, according to Azerbaijan’s state news agency. “We demand justice, we demand punishment of the guilty, we demand complete transparency and humane treatment.” Days after the crash, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized that the “tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” but did not accept responsibility. Aliyev on Monday again accused Russia of a “cover up,” saying the “focus on absurd versions” of the crash has ignited “surprise, regret and rightly indignation” in Azerbaijan.