Azerbaijan and Russia said Wednesday they had reached a settlement over the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines jet, including compensation, that acknowledges the role of Russian air defences.
The announcement marks a significant step in easing tensions between the two countries after Baku accused Moscow of responsibility after the crash.
The AZAL Embraer 190 jet crash-landed in Kazakhstan in December 2024, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Baku’s relations with Soviet-era master Russia soured after President Ilham Aliyev demanded that Moscow accept responsibility for mistakenly firing on the plane as it tried to make a scheduled landing at Grozny airport in south Russia.
On Wednesday, the two countries’ foreign ministries said in a joint statement the crash resulted from the “unintentional action” of an air defence system in Russian airspace and confirmed agreement on compensation payments. It did not give details.
The agreement followed earlier talks between Aliyev and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the statement said.
“The steps taken confirm the mutual intention to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of allied interaction.”
Demanding that Putin admit responsibility, Aliyev has also accused Russia of putting forward alternative theories that “clearly showed the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue.”
Putin later apologised for the “tragic incident.”
The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has said the crash was a “stark reminder” of the Malaysian Airlines plane, which international investigators have said was downed by a missile shot by Russian-backed rebels in east Ukraine in 2014.
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