Russian air defence systems might have brought the Azerbaijani airliner down, a US official claimed on Friday. This comes after Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's minister of digital development and transportation minister cited expert analysis and survivor accounts to suggest that a weapon hit the plane. Nabiyev told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” as does witness testimony. “The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” Nabiyev said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US "has seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that Russian air defence systems brought down this jet”, but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation."
Pressure intensifies on Russia
Statements from the US and Azerbaijan raised pressure on Russia, which earlier said that a drone attack was underway in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing.
When asked whether the US has intelligence that helped it to reach that conclusion or whether the US is relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Kirby responded by saying, "Yes" but said he'd “leave it at that,” without providing further details.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting to land. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Russia's response
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the claims that the plane was hit by Russian air defences, saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated, and we don't believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
(With agency inputs)
