President Azure "Russia should punish those involved in plane crash"

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev called on Russia to punish those involved for providing the cause of the accident in connection with the plane crash on the 25th.

According to Reuters and others, President Aliyev said in a televised speech on the 29th local time that "our plane was accidentally shot down," adding, "Russia wants to acknowledge its responsibility and punish those involved."

It also pointed out that there are attempts to cover up the fact that Russia provided the cause of the incident.

"Unfortunately, for three days immediately after the outbreak of the incident, we only heard absurd explanations from Russia such as 'tidal collisions' and 'gas cylinder explosions,'" President Aliyev said. "It is clear that there was an attempt to hide the incident."

The plane left Baku, Azerbaijan, for Grozny, Russia, on the 25th, when it suddenly changed course and crossed the Caspian Sea to the east.

Then it crashed while trying to land in Aktau, western Kazakhstan.An accident involving

killed 38 of the 67 people aboard the plane at the time.Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately called Aliyev to apologize after a preliminary investigation by Azerbaijani authorities found that the Russian air defense missile was shot down after the

accident denied involvement.