In an interview with Azerbaijan Television on December 29, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakh rescuers and medical teams for their solidarity and assistance during and after the deadly crash of an Embraer 190 of the Azerbaijan Airlines on December 25.
The plane with 62 passengers and five crew, which was headed from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, crashed near the city of Aqtau in western Kazakhstan after crossing the Caspian Sea, killing 38 passengers and crew.
Aliyev emphasized “true heroism” of Kazakh rescuers, who immediately arrived at the scene of the crash and began to pull survived people out of the destroyed fuselage. “They put their own lives at risk. Because they did not know whether there would be another explosion or not.”
The president of Azerbaijan thanked the Kazakh medical teams who spared no effort to treat the wounded and provide them with medical care.
“I know that the demonstration of solidarity by our Kazakh brothers and sisters also left a great mark in the hearts of the Azerbaijani people. Ordinary people went to our consulate in Aktau, laid flowers, and expressed their attitude and solidarity with us. This is what true friendship and brotherhood are like,” said Aliyev.
“I also expressed my condolences to President Tokayev because six citizens of Kazakhstan died as a result of the accident. He also expressed his condolences to me. In other words, no matter how serious the incident was, it was also a test. I am glad that despite this tragedy, I see and am sure that people in Kazakhstan share the same opinion. Our friendship and brotherhood have become even stronger after this difficult situation,” the Azeri leader said.
In a phone call with Aliyev on December 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized over the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, amid growing evidence that the plane was hit by a Russian air-defense missile in the Chechnya region before it went down in Kazakhstan. Putin said Russian air defenses were repelling an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, when the plane was trying to land at the airport there.
Photo: president.az