It should be recalled that last year, the crash of an AZAL civilian aircraft occurred at the very moment when the Azerbaijani president’s plane was heading to the informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg. At that time, a decision was made to turn the presidential aircraft around in midair and return to Baku. At that moment, the only information available online were horrific images of the crash of the Baku–Grozny flight on Kazakh territory.
Several hours passed before the causes of the crash were clarified, initial explanations appeared, and a government delegation from Azerbaijan was urgently dispatched. However, the president chose to return to Baku and held a meeting directly at the airport.
There is no need to recall all the developments that have taken place during the year in Azerbaijani-Russian relations. The turning point came at the CIS summit in Dushanbe on October 9 this year, where the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia met, and Russian President Putin offered an apology, acknowledging that the AZAL civilian aircraft had crashed due to the operation of Russian air defense systems. He did so in his characteristic manner, but the key point was the acknowledgment and the promise to “do everything required in such situations.”
And what is required in such situations? To acknowledge, to apologize, to pay compensation, and to punish those responsible.
The famous phrase by Viktor Chernomyrdin — “We completed all points from A to B” — precisely describes Russia’s behavior, half-measures, and lack of action following the meeting of the presidents in Dushanbe.
Almost two and a half months have passed since early October.
The anniversary of the tragedy is approaching, the moment by which the commission investigating the causes of the crash must complete its work. However, judging by statements from Kazakhstan, the process is still ongoing, and the Russian side has yet to finish its part.
During this period, it has become evident to everyone that Azerbaijan’s position is fully justified and the only correct one.
Yet over these two and a half months, despite President Putin’s assurances, Russia has not taken a single step toward “doing what is required in such situations.” The investigation is incomplete, compensation has not been issued, and those responsible have not been held accountable.
How, under these circumstances, could the president of Azerbaijan participate in the informal CIS summit?
Did Russia truly expect the Azerbaijani leadership to visit the country without any resolution of the aircraft issue? To Russia specifically… since Azerbaijan has no problems with the CIS format itself. This was clearly demonstrated in Dushanbe.
Azerbaijan has elevated its relations with Central Asia to a qualitatively new level — that is two-thirds of the CIS. Progress is being made with Armenia through a bilateral format, and relations with Belarus are also stable at the bilateral level.
So that leaves only Russia — and the reason is obvious to everyone.
Thus, the president of Azerbaijan has once again demonstrated unwavering consistency and principled commitment regarding the AZAL crash. Azerbaijan is acting constructively in negotiations and expects Russia to complete its obligations — not “from A to B” as Chernomyrdin once joked, but, as President Putin put it, “as required in such situations,” meaning properly — from A to Z.
And what comes next?
Azerbaijani-Russian relations, due to the Kremlin’s lack of promised action, are ending the year with the aircraft crisis unresolved. The next step is to await the completion of the intergovernmental commission’s work, particularly the Russian side of it, to understand Russia’s intentions.
Azerbaijan’s position is absolutely clear and has been articulated by its president: Baku is ready either to close the matter of the crash — should Russia meet Azerbaijan’s fair demands, verified and confirmed by President Putin — or to continue defending its position using international instruments.
Farhad Mammadov
@mneniyefm
