Baku on Friday dismissed Moscow’s claims about the insurance payments related to the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash as misleading.
“The statement issued on 4 September by Russian Foreign Ministry regarding insurance payments related to the AZAL aircraft crash, which resulted from a shootdown, is not only surprising but also misleading to the public,” Aykhan Hajizada, spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, said in a commentary, News.Az reports.
“The insurance payments to AZAL and its passengers by an insurance company registered in Russia and the demand of our country for compensation from the Government of Russia in connection with the downing of the aircraft are entirely different matters,” the spokesman stated.
According to Hajizada, the mentioned insurance payments process by the company has already been carried out over the past six months.
“In general, these payments were made strictly within the framework of AZAL’s insurance contract, as part of the obligations arising from the company’s insurance of the aircraft and passengers. Regarding the fact that a Russian insurance company made these payments, it is worth noting that aircraft insurance is typically carried out through relevant international insurance companies. Considering that no international insurance company operates within the territory of Russia, the insurance of the AZAL aircraft was carried out through a Russian company,” he said.
“Therefore, attempts to equate insurance payments with the compensation demanded by Azerbaijan from the Russian Government are inappropriate.”
Hajizada also responded to Russian claims about the arrest of 13 Russian citizens in Azerbaijan in July 2025.
“At the same time, the statement by the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation that the arrest of 13 Russian citizens in Azerbaijan in July of this year was the reason for the deterioration of Azerbaijan-Russia relations, and presenting their release as a condition for the improvement of relations, is incorrect,” he said.
“It is known that the deterioration of Azerbaijan-Russia relations was caused exactly by the crash of the AZAL aircraft as a result of the shootdown and by the subsequent behavior of Russian officials. Furthermore, the persecution of Azerbaijanis in Russia based on ethnicity, the killing of Azerbaijanis as a result of beating in the city of Yekaterinburg, has created additional tensions in our relations. Moreover, the activities of various Russian state agencies against Azerbaijan are among the factors negatively affecting relations,” the spokesman added.
