Snowplow driver refuses to plead guilty, says he was not drunk

Snowplow driver refused to plead guilty on case of the crash of the private jet at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, lawyer Alexander Karabanov told RIA Novosti.

Photo: AP photo

"During the interrogation, Martynenko (the driver -ed.) said he did not plead guilty. He said he was not drunk at the moment of the accident," said the lawyer.

Karabanov stated that his client did not drink alcohol at all due to health problems.

"He does not understand what is happening, he experiences emotional shock, complains of pain in the heart and requests to be provided with necessary medicines," said the lawyer.

At night of October 20, Russia lost one of its best partners, a wonderful and friendly-minded French colleague - Christophe de Margerie. The head of French oil and gas giant Total has fallen a victim to an absurd tragedy, the circumstances of which have not been established yet. Either the weather was too bad, the snowplow  driver was drunk, or the flight dispatcher made a mistake. All of these reasons may serve as a weapon for the USA and the EU to reproach Russia yet again.

Until recently, Total was one of the few companies that continued supplying equipment for the oil and gas industry of Russia after the West introduced restrictions against Russia. The company may now agree upon the USA's suggestions and turn its back on the Russian Federation.

"The president of oil and gas company Total Christophe de Margerie has done a lot for the arrival of investment in Russia. A terrible tragedy," said the ex-Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin

The investigation of the incident and the decoding of the "black boxes" has been postponed until the arrival of French law enforcement colleagues and diplomats.

More on the subject: Total CEO killed in plane crash in Moscow