Aliyev: Russian Side Wants to Cover Up This Issue

The downed Azerbaijani aircraft in Aktau was damaged "due to ground shelling," stated Azerbaijani President Aliyev. "The Azerbaijani civilian aircraft was damaged on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that our aircraft was brought into an uncontrollable state by electronic warfare means. This is the first damage inflicted on the aircraft," he noted.

"We were saddened and surprised that Russian official entities put forward theories concerning some gas cylinder explosion. This clearly showed that the Russian side wants to cover up the issue, and this certainly does not bring honor to anyone," added Aliyev.