Authorities in Azerbaijan say they have been left “bewildered” after Russian officials told them that a criminal probe into the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet has been terminated.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, had sent a letter stating that the investigation into the incident, as well as criminal cases, had been closed.
The aircraft flying from Azeri capital Baku to Grozny in Russian Chechnya crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan in December 2024. Of the 67 people on board, 38 were killed and 29 survived.
Initial investigations suggested the aircraft was struck by Russian air defense systems amid a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s skies.
“The letter claimed that the criminal case had been closed, which naturally raised serious questions,” Bayramov said, adding that Azerbaijan had sent an official response making clear the matter was far from resolved.
“Our expectation is that the process will be completed in accordance with the statements and apology of the Russian President in Dushanbe,” Bayramov said, referring to a meeting between Vladimir Putin and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev in October 2025.
Seeking justice
One year on from the incident, the families of many of the deceased are fighting for justice to be served.
Hamlet Ismayilov, whose 38-year-old son Ismayil was killed in the crash, told Euronews that those responsible should be held to account.
“Videos appeared on YouTube and other sources suggest that this plane was shot down intentionally,” Ismayilov said.
“A year has passed since the incident, and we believe that those responsible will soon be identified and brought to justice. The relatives of the victims, as well as those who survived, continue to wait for justice to prevail.”
What happened?
President Aliyev said the plane was hit by shooting from the ground while flying over Russian territory, describing the incident as unintentional. He said the full circumstances would become clear after the black boxes were examined.
Putin later apologized to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a “tragic incident,” acknowledging that it occurred in Russian airspace, after Russian air defenses were fired against Ukrainian drones.
Azerbaijan has criticized what it described as attempts by “some circles” in Russia to obscure the causes of the crash and said it expects Moscow to fulfil its commitments related to the investigation.
Putin promised that those responsible would be punished, according to Azerbaijani officials.
The crash has become a major source of friction between long-time allies Baku and Moscow. The Azeri government has also criticized Russia for damaging its embassy in Ukraine, and last week Aliyev skipped a regional summit of countries with ties to Russia, which was hosted by Putin.