The foreign ministries of Russia and Azerbaijan have published a joint statement announcing the resolution of the parties’ differences regarding the crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by AZAL on December 25, 2024. The crash itself occurred near Aktau, Kazakhstan after the plane was struck by Russian air defense systems while attempting to land at its intended destination of Grozny.
Today’s announcement from Moscow and Baku formally stated that they had reached agreements on “appropriate settlement of the consequences” in line with an accord between the presidents of the two countries, signed at a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 9, 2025. The statement emphasizes that the crash was the result of the unintended activation of a Russian air defense system.
The diplomatic crisis over the tragedy lasted for more than a year. The aircraft, which was operating a Baku–Grozny flight, carried 67 people; 38 of them were killed. Immediately after the crash, Russia denied any involvement of its air defense systems in the incident, with Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency initially citing a bird strike as the cause of the disaster. However, characteristic shrapnel damage from a surface-to-air missile was later found on the wreckage.
On Dec. 28, 2024, Putin called Aliyev and apologized for the fact that the incident had occurred “in Russian airspace,” but did not directly address the role of air defense at the time. Aliyev later accused the Russian side of attempting to conceal the truth about the disaster and called for “human decency.” Baku insisted on an acknowledgment from Moscow of Russian responsibility, the punishment of the officials involved, and the payment of full compensation.
In October 2025, Putin and Aliyev met in Dushanbe. The Russian leader acknowledged that the crash had been caused amid “the flight of a Ukrainian drone” and a “technical malfunction” of the air defense system, and promised to pay compensation to the families of those killed and injured. According to Putin, two missiles exploded several meters from the aircraft, “without directly hitting it.” At the same time, Russia’s official inquiry into the shootdown was not completed: in December 2025, Russia’s Investigative Committee closed the criminal case without holding anyone accountable, which, according to Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov, “raised serious questions.”
The joint statement by the two countries’ foreign ministries now says that the steps taken “reaffirm [their] shared commitment to further developing mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of [their] allied partnership.” The document does not disclose specific amounts or terms of the compensation payments.
