‘Lack of humanity’: Why Azerbaijan is angry with Russia over plane crash

With Azerbaijan successful mourning this week implicit the Christmas Day level crash that claimed 38 lives, governmental idiosyncratic Farhad Mammadov’s caput raced backmost to November 2020.

Then, connected the past time of the warfare betwixt Azerbaijan and Armenia implicit the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan changeable down a Russian chopper adjacent its border, portion it was successful Armenian airspace.

“Immediately, the president of Azerbaijan called the president of Russia, took the blasted for himself, for the country, brought an apology, and past determination was the punishment of the blameworthy and the outgo of compensation,” said Mammadov, who is the manager of the Baku-based Center for Studies of the South Caucasus.

Four years later, the roles person reversed — almost.

On December 25, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 took disconnected from Baku bound for Grozny successful Chechnya, with 67 passengers and unit onboard. As the level neared Grozny successful Russian airspace, it appeared to person travel nether occurrence from the crushed and changed people east, crashing adjacent Aktau successful occidental Kazakhstan. Only 29 radical survived.

Although Russian officials astatine archetypal speculated that the level deed a flock of birds oregon an oxygen vessel onboard exploded, the harm appeared accordant with that from surface-to-air missiles utilized by the Russian aerial defence. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised for the “tragic incident” but did not straight instrumentality work connected Russia’s behalf, claiming Ukrainian drones were successful the area.

However, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has demanded that Russia formally judge work and wage compensation to the survivors — reflecting the choler successful Azerbaijan implicit Moscow’s handling of the catastrophe, and the anticipation that Putin beryllium arsenic upfront astir what happened arsenic Aliyev was successful 2020.

“Azerbaijan is expecting the aforesaid now, which we person not seen yet,” said Mammadov. “And if the Russian broadside has chosen the way of partial apology, past we volition expect consequent apologies, punishments and compensations astatine the consequent stages of the probe into the ongoing case.”

For galore successful Azerbaijan, it is not conscionable a question of what deed the plane, but however Russia responded to the emergency.

“What makes this concern adjacent much appalling is what happened aft the level was changeable down,” Leyla, a autochthonal of Baku, told Al Jazeera. “Landing support successful Russian territory was denied. This is the astir gruesome portion of the incidental and thing radical cannot forgive.”

Azerbaijani officials person claimed that the pilots were denied exigency landing support successful Russia, forcing them to alteration people to Aktau, crossed the Caspian Sea.

“If the level had been allowed to onshore successful Russia aft the mistake was realised, possibly those lives could person been saved. Instead, the level was sent to Kazakhstan, a determination made by heartless, incompetent individuals,” Leyla added. “This deficiency of humanity and accountability is what angers and devastates radical the most.”

But could the destiny of Flight 8243 besides harm Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan?

As a erstwhile Soviet republic, relations betwixt oil-rich Azerbaijan and its tremendous bluish neighbour person been analyzable – but, dissimilar for example, the Baltics, not wholly hostile.

Azerbaijan concisely gained independency pursuing the Russian Empire’s illness astatine the extremity of the First World War. But successful 1920, the Red Army invaded, bringing Azerbaijan backmost nether Moscow’s helping for the adjacent 7 decades.

The archetypal fewer years aft Azerbaijan’s independency successful 1991 were marked by suspicion, arsenic 2 attempted coup d’etats successful Baku were backed by the Kremlin. Russia has besides tried to equilibrium affable relations with some Azerbaijan and Armenia, with whom Azerbaijan has been successful a bitter struggle implicit the disputed portion of Nagorno-Karabakh since the precocious Soviet era. At the aforesaid clip arsenic selling weaponry to some sides, Moscow has tried acting arsenic a mediator and deployed peacekeeping troops to Karabakh.

These peacekeeping troops stood backmost arsenic Azerbaijani forces quickly overran Karabakh successful September past year, causing astir the full Armenian colonisation to flee, contempt Armenia being a chap subordinate of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led NATO-like alliance. Russian peacekeepers yet withdrew from Karabakh successful April this twelvemonth arsenic Baku consolidated control.

On the whole, speech from the tensions implicit the level crash, ties betwixt Russia and Azerbaijan are good, said Mammadov. Azerbaijan has not taken sides successful Moscow’s warfare connected Ukraine and is Russia’s largest trading spouse successful the South Caucuses, occupying a important transport way for goods travelling to and from Iran. Equally, Moscow matters arsenic an economical spouse for Baku.

“As a commercialized and economical spouse [for Azerbajian], successful the archetypal spot is Italy, successful the 2nd spot is Turkey, and successful the 3rd spot is Russia,” said governmental idiosyncratic and lawmaker Rasim Musabeyov.

“So, successful this sense, commercialized and economical relations are important for Azerbaijan and Russia,” helium said. “The bulk of Azerbaijani planes alert to Russia, astatine slightest earlier this incident. The largest Russian assemblage successful the South Caucasus, astir 120,000 Russians, unrecorded here.” Nearly a cardinal Azerbaijanis unrecorded successful Russia, helium added.

Musabeyov believes that it is present connected Putin to bash the close happening to assistance relations get implicit the deed they person taken from the level crash.

Putin’s apology, helium said, “should beryllium followed by an investigation of this incident, the culprit punished, and compensation paid”.

“Azerbaijan is not funny successful worsening relations with Russia,” Musabeyov said.