Russia denies reports of Lavrov’s alleged letter to Azerbaijan on airspace safety

Reports about a letter from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov about Russian airspace are fake, according to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry. 

The ministry denied Lavrov's alleged letter about the impossibility of guaranteeing the safe use of Russian airspace, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“This is a cynical and crude falsification. This throw-in is an example of primitive fake, designed for an emotional reaction,” the foreign ministry said.

Against this background, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged media representatives and bloggers to “critically treat any unverified publications and materials.”

On December 25, 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, an Embraer 190AR aircraft, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, during an emergency landing attempt. The flight was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. Of the 67 individuals on board—62 passengers and 5 crew members—38 perished, and 29 survived. Of the five crew members, two lost their lives while three survived.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the aircraft was struck by a Russian surface-to-air missile during efforts to repel a Ukrainian drone attack over Chechnya.

On December 28, the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan had a telephone conversation. Vladimir Putin expressed condolences and apologised to Ilham Aliyev for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace. The Azerbaijani president demanded Putin bring to justice those responsible and provide compensation to Baku, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members.

By Khagan Isayev