Azerbaijan and Russian experience a fresh bout of rancor over 2024 air disaster

The Russian accidental downing of an Azerbaijani civilian jetliner just over a year ago is an irritant in bilateral relations that refuses to go away. A Russian decision to drop a criminal investigation into the 2024 tragedy is causing yet another flare up of rancor.

Azerbaijan has long demanded full accountability for the accidental shoot-down of the civilian airliner as it was preparing to land in the Russian province of Chechnya. According to Azerbaijani sources, shrapnel mistakenly fired by Russian air defense forces crippled the jet, which managed to limp over the Caspian Sea before crashing in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of 67 aboard. 

Russia’s reluctance to admit responsibility led to months of vitriolic exchanges between the two countries. Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev bristled at what he considered the Kremlin’s imperial attitude and lack of respect for his administration.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin finally acknowledged in October that Russian air defenses shot down the plane and promised to give compensation to victims’ relatives. “Everything required in such tragic cases will be done by the Russian side in terms of compensation, and the actions of all officials will be legally assessed,” Putin told Aliyev at the time.

Russia opened a criminal investigation into the affair in the fall, but shortly before the end of 2025, Azerbaijani officials reported receiving a termination notification from Russia’s Investigative Committee, indicating that no one in Russia would face justice over the incident. Speaking at a year-end news conference, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov condemned Russia’s inaction. “Undoubtedly, this step raises very serious questions for us," he said.

Bayramov also noted that Russia was dragging its feet on providing compensation to victims of the crash. “The fact that the plane was shot down was later acknowledged by the Russian side, and compensation payments were also announced. This was an important statement,” he said. “We expect this process to be completed." 

A few days later, Russian officials reiterated Moscow’s intent to fulfill the compensation promise but provided no specifics concerning a timeframe. "We are committed to fully implementing all agreements reached by the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan following their meeting in Dushanbe on October 9," the News.ru outlet quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin as saying.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan also helped revive feelings of grievance in Baku by issuing an inconclusive, end-of-year interim report on the cause of the crash, which occurred near the airport in the Kazakh city of Aktau. The interim report did little to elaborate on initial findings contained in a preliminary crash investigation report released last February. Both reports have tried to walk a diplomatic tightrope that avoids stoking further controversy or angering either Azerbaijan or Russia.

The interim report noted that two factors were holding up investigators from making a final assessment – a delay in examining maintenance records and continuing work on a “risk analysis for flights over or near conflict zones.”

“The Investigation Commission is taking a balanced approach, and all conclusions will be objective and based solely on facts,” the interim report states. The report gave no indication of when the final crash report might be released, stating only that it will be posted on the Transport Ministry’s website when completed.