Moscow responds to Washington's statements about Kazakhstan plane crash

Russia will support both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in investigating the causes of the air crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Photo: Baza

Kazakhstan plane crash

Peskov's comment came in response to Washington's reaction to the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft in Kazakhtan. On Friday, December 27, the White House Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the plane may have been shot down by Russian air defense missiles.

"We have seen those statements. In this case, I would like to remind you of yesterday's statement from Dmitry Yadrov, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency,” Peskov said urging everyone to wait for the results of the investigation.

He also noted that it was inappropriate for the presidential administration to talk about the accident.

Kazakhstan President Tokayev calls for action 

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting in connection with the plane crash.

The President once again expressed condolences to families and friends of the victims. He recalled that the tragedy claimed the lives of several citizens of Kazakhstan as well.

"We thwarted much more serious consequences of the accident and thus saved many human lives. Rescue works were carried out at a high level. People lined up to donate blood. Many of our compatriots laid flowers at the building of the Azerbaijani embassy. This reaction was widely covered by both domestic and foreign media. We express special gratitude to citizens of neighboring friendly countries — Azerbaijan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan," the President of Kazakhstan said.

The President instructed the government to present most distinguished citizens for state awards. Tokayev also said that one should analyse the flight safety all across Kazakhstan.

Foreign airlines restrict flights to Russia

Following the crash of the AZAL aircraft in Kazakhstan, four foreign airlines restricted flights to or from Russia:

• Azerbaijan Airlines restricted flights from Baku to ten Russian cities (Grozny, Makhachkala, Sochi, Mineralnye Vody, Vladikavkaz, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saratov, Ufa, Volgograd.
• Qazaq Air (Kazakhstan) restricted flights on the Astana-Yekaterinburg for a month from December 28 to January 27. Passengers of cancelled flights will be able to receive a full refund for their tickets.
• Turkmenistan Airlines suspended flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route for one month.
• FlyDubai (UAE) restricted flights from Sochi and Mineralnye Vody to Dubai from December 28 to January 5. The carrier explained the decision by force majeure and a threat to flight safety. Later, FlyDubai reported that the period of restrictions would be reduced to January 2 for Sochi and to January 3 for Mineralnye Vody.