“The joint statement of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Russia regarding the compensation for the downing of the Azerbaijani plane—the Azerbaijani state and society had long been awaiting an agreement on the payment of compensation.” Member of the Milli Majlis, political scientist Hikmat Babaoğlu said this in an interview with Medianews.az.
He stated that many issues had to be resolved: “First of all, the criminal incident that occurred should not be assessed from the perspective of one state’s superiority over the other in interstate relations. However, we know that until today, in the experience of the Russian Federation, we rarely see such examples of equal treatment towards other countries. After the plane crash, finally, Russia took an obligation to behave with Azerbaijan as an equal and to reveal the truth and pay compensation. This is a very important step for the future prospects of Russia-Azerbaijan relations. It is already understood in Russia that Azerbaijan does not resemble any other country. It is a reliable, equal, and capable country that knows how to evaluate its role and influence. Azerbaijan’s international reputation and policies it implements are sufficient for it to regulate horizontal, rather than vertical, relations with any state.”
H. Babaoğlu noted that the statement should be regarded not only as an indicator of Azerbaijan’s level of international reputation but also as an event that will bring new dividends to Azerbaijan as an actor in international relations by official Baku in the future: “Because all countries of the world are practically observing how a state acts in similar incidents and accordingly make assessments.
The principled stance shown by Azerbaijan in protecting the rights of its own citizens is undoubtedly highly appreciated by every Azerbaijani citizen. Citizens will feel safer. Everyone will accept an Azerbaijani citizen as a citizen of a strong country. Foreign states will refrain from aggressive actions against any Azerbaijani vehicle or air transport. This will create confidence in the safety of every Azerbaijani citizen and simultaneously strengthen trust and confidence in the national state. From this perspective, the main issue in focus is the safety of Azerbaijani citizens.
Finally, another point is the implementation of international law. All these, of course, are events that should be highly valued both by Azerbaijani society, international law, and the context of interstate relations.”
Recall that on April 15, 2026, a joint statement of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Russia was published. The statement emphasized that the Russian side will pay compensation to Azerbaijan regarding the crash of the AZAL plane near Aktau on December 25, 2024.
It was noted that, according to the understanding reached during the meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia in Dushanbe on October 9, 2025, the parties agreed on December 25, 2024, to properly resolve issues arising from the crash of an Embraer 190 plane belonging to "Azerbaijan Airlines" (AZAL) near the city of Aktau caused by the unintentional activation of the air defense system in the airspace of Russia, including the payment of compensation.
Nailə Qasımova,
Medianews.az