Azerbaijan said on Monday (December 30) that Moscow has assured it will hold those responsible for the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash accountable. 

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The plane, which Azerbaijan claims was hit by Russian air defences, crash-landed in Kazakhstan on December 25, causing the deaths of 38 out of the 67 passengers onboard.

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In a statement, Azerbaijan's General Prosecutor said that the head of Russia's Investigative Committee had told Baku, "Intensive measures are being carried out to identify the guilty people and bring them to criminal responsibility."

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Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the incident but has not confirmed that the plane was struck by its air-defence system.

'Russian side wanted to cover up the issue': Azeri prez

On Sunday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demanded that Russia admit shooting at the passenger jet. He accused Moscow of trying to hide the true cause of the fatal crash. Speaking on state television, Aliyev said: "The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control."

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Also read: Azerbaijan president confirms plane crash caused by Russian shooting, regrets ‘false narrative’

He added, "We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control... At the same time, as a result of fire from the ground, the tail of the plane was also severely damaged."

While Aliyev said that the plane was hit unintentionally, he criticised Russia for allegedly trying to hide the details of the crash. He described Moscow's response as "regrettable and surprising," adding that it "clearly showed the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue". 

“For the first three days, we heard nothing from Russia except some absurd theories,” Aliyev said.

The Kremlin said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had apologised to Azerbaijan during a phone conversation about the "tragic incident." Putin accepted that Russian air defences were active in Grozny on December 25, when the Azerbaijan Airlines jet attempted to land before diverting.

However, the Kremlin's statement did not admit Russia’s fault. Later that day, Putin called for a "transparent" investigation into the crash.

(With inputs from agencies)