An Azerbaijani minister suggested on Friday that an airliner that crashed this week was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor evidence indicating that the plane was struck from the outside.
The statement from Rashad Nabiyev raised pressure on Russia.
And White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems”, but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.
Pressed on whether the US has intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion, or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Mr Kirby characterised the short answer as “yes” but said he would “leave it at that,” without providing further details.
Officials in Moscow have said a drone attack was under way in the region that the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was destined for but have not addressed statements from aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defences responding to a Ukrainian attack.
Russia’s aviation chief said earlier on Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack was under way in the Russian region that an airliner was destined for before it diverted and crashed earlier this week.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land there.
The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Azerbaijan Airlines on Friday blamed the crash on unspecified “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports.
It did not say where the interference came from or provide any further details.
Mr Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, 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,” Mr Nabiyev said.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Mr Asadov said that the noises sounded like something hitting the plane from outside. He denied Kazakh officials’ claim that an oxygen canister exploded inside the plane.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have been tight-lipped about a possible cause pending an official probe. But a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Rasim Musabekov, told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday that the plane was fired on while in the skies over Grozny and urged Russia to offer an official apology.
Asked about Mr Musabekov’s statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, 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,” Mr Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Mr Yadrov, the Russian aviation chief, said that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
Mr Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land in Grozny, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.
“The situation in the area of Grozny airport was quite difficult,” he said in a statement. “There are many circumstances that it’s necessary to investigate jointly.”
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the crash probe, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement.
Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny and other areas in the country’s North Caucasus.
FlightRadar24 said in an online post that the aircraft faced “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight tracking data. Russia has extensively used sophisticated jamming equipment to fend off drone attacks.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.
The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities, including Moscow and St Petersburg. Those cities also have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.
Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air also announced on Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai also halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russian until January 5.
The day before, Israel’s El Al carrier suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace”. The airline said it would reassess the situation next week.
