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14 Jan, 16:02

Black box data from crashed Azerbaijani airliner contradicts earlier media reports

"At this stage, there’s no need to create a media frenzy by relying on information that, for the most part, is not supported by the data from the black boxes," the Russian foreign minister added

MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. Data retrieved from the black boxes of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger jet which crashed last month near the Kazakh city of Aktau shows that previous media speculations about the cause of the crash are off base, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"A special meeting was held in Brazil as part of the investigation. We got the info from the black boxes, and their contents have already provided a wealth of interesting information. This further reinforces the need to wait for a full-fledged investigation," Lavrov told a news conference on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2024.

"At this stage, there’s no need to create a media frenzy by relying on information that, for the most part, is not supported by the data from the black boxes," he added.

According to Russia’s top diplomat, good relations with Azerbaijan enable the two countries to address incidents in a sensible manner, "just as was done when a Russian helicopter was shot down by mistake during the second Karabakh military conflict or during the disastrous crash of the Azerbaijani plane near Aktau."

"We appreciate that our Azerbaijani colleagues immediately welcomed Russia's participation in this investigation," Lavrov said.

An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 plane en-route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Russia’s Grozny in Chechnya crash-landed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. The aircraft was carrying 67 people, 62 passengers and five crew members.

The majority of passengers on board the aircraft were citizens of Azerbaijan, but there were also nationals from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan on the plane. According to the most recent reports, 38 people, including seven Russians, lost their lives, while 29 others survived the crash.