Speaking at the Global Media Forum held in Khankendi City on July 19, Mr. Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan knows what happened and can prove it. He said that Russian officials also knew the truth.
The incident occurred in December 2024, when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was en route from Baku to Chechnya's capital Grozny. The plane crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan after converting its course from southern Russia, where there are Ukrainian drone strikes on several cities. In this accident, 38 people died and 29 people survived.
Immediately after the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Mr. Aliyev, calling it a " tragic incident". However, Mr. Putin did not confirm that Russian air defense forces shot down the plane. This made Azerbaijan unhappy and continued to demand that Russia officially claim responsibility.
President Aliyev affirmed that Azerbaijan is expecting an official recognition from Russia, prosecuting those involved, compensating the victims' families and those injured, as well as paying the cost of the destroyed plane. He emphasized that these are requirements that are completely consistent with international law and neighborly relations.
At the same event, Mr. Aliyev also reiterated his desire to establish a transport corridor connecting Azerbaijan with the Nakhivan region through the currency of Armenia. He said it was a connection between parts of the same country and called for reliable security measures so that Azerbaijanis were not threatened during their travel, especially as rocks have been thrown at trains in the past.
The transit corridor, about 32 km long through Armenia's Syunik province, will connect Azerbaijan's mainland with Nakhchivan - bordering Turkey, a close ally of Baku. The route has been one of the tensions in the peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two countries that have experienced many conflicts since the late 1980s and have maintained long-standing hostility.
Although the two sides said they had completed the draft peace agreement in March, the signing date has not yet been set. Meanwhile, Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the US has proposed taking on the role of coordinating the transportation corridor.
