Azerbaijan's President Accuses Russia of Plane Crash Cover-Up
The Facts
Azerbaijan's Pres. Ilham Aliyev on Sunday accused Russia of accidentally downing an Azerbaijan Airlines plane on Christmas Day and executing an "absurd" cover-up.
Claiming that "the plane was shot down by Russia," Aliyev called for Moscow to "apologize to Azerbaijan," "admit its guilt," and "punish the guilty."
The Spin
Pro-Russia narrative
The reasons for the crash aren't yet known. What's known so far is that the flight was diverted because of poor weather conditions and crashed during its landing. Putin has appropriately offered his condolences for the tragic incident, but just because it happened over Russian airspace doesn't mean that Moscow should be forced to accept blame for the disaster when its exact causes remain unclear.
Anti-Russia narrative
The plane suffered clear physical and technical damage from outside on Russian territory, with multiple holes in the fuselage consistent with an air defense missile strike, demonstrating the reckless operation of Russian defense systems in civilian airspace. It's clear that Russia shot the plane down, and Putin's apology is an attempt to cover up the matter.
