Azerbaijan’s FM: Russia’s closure of AZAL crash case sparks serious questions

Azerbaijan has serious questions about Russia’s Investigative Committee closing the criminal case into the AZAL plane crash, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.

Speaking at a year-end press conference, Bayramov added that the Russian Investigative Committee had sent a letter outlining the results of the probe, which had left Azerbaijani authorities puzzled, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

“The letter stated that the criminal case has already been closed. Naturally, this step raises very serious questions for us,” Bayramov said, adding that Azerbaijan had formally responded to the communication.

Bayramov stressed that Azerbaijan expects Russia to fulfil its obligations related to the incident.

“Yesterday marked the anniversary of the tragedy. I extend my condolences to the families of the victims. The fact that the aircraft was hit was eventually acknowledged by the Russian side, which also announced compensation payments. This was an important statement. We expect this process to be carried through to completion,” he added.

On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Embraer 190 passenger jet operating flight J2‑8243 from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people and injuring 29. The aircraft, carrying 62 passengers and five crew, was diverted toward Kazakhstan after suffering critical damage over Russian airspace. 

Preliminary investigations indicate the plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir‑S air defence system during operations targeting perceived threats in the region, and electronic warfare measures disrupted its communications, causing radar loss and forcing the diversion. An interim report confirmed external damage from weapon fragments rather than internal failure.

By Aghakazim Guliyev