Azerbaijan says Russia promises to punish those responsible for plane crash

 FILE PHOTO: A photo shows emergency specialists working at the site of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, December 25, 2024.

Azerbaijan confirmed on Monday that the Russian government had promised to punish those responsible for the airliner crashAzerbaijan Airlines, whose crash was blamed by the Azerbaijani government on a Russian missile, according to a report by the AFP news agency.

An AZAL Embraer 190 plane burst into flames upon landing in Kazakhstan on December 25, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has demanded that Russia be held responsible for the accidental shooting down of the plane as it attempted to land as planned atGrozny Airport in southern Russia.

Russia has not confirmed that one of its air defense missiles shot down the plane, although Russian President Vladimir Putin told Aliyev by phone.Last weekend, he said that Russian air defense systems were in action at the time and that he apologized that the incident occurred in Russian airspace.

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General confirmed in a statement on Monday that the head of Russia's Investigative Committee had told the Azerbaijani government: "Measures"Strong efforts are being made to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

Russia has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, but has not confirmed whether it agrees that the plane was shot down by one of its missiles, nor has it said anything about the cause.It's not about finding or bringing the perpetrators to justice.