Head of Russian Federation Council: AZAL settlement opens new opportunities for Moscow and Baku

The settlement by Russia and Azerbaijan of the aftermath of the AZAL plane crash opens new opportunities for the development of relations between the two countries.

This was stated by the Chairperson of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, during a meeting in Istanbul on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly with the Chairperson of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova.

"We have completed this stage. And this opens new opportunities for the unhindered further development of mutually beneficial Russian-Azerbaijani relations," said the speaker of the Federation Council.

Matviyenko emphasized that Russian-Azerbaijani relations "have enormous potential for mutually beneficial cooperation and are developing in the widest range of areas."

Gafarova, in turn, noted that the relations between Russia and Azerbaijan "have always been, are, and will be" the most friendly. She added that their current development is very gratifying.

Earlier, Moscow and Baku reached a settlement on the aftermath, including the payment of compensations, due to the crash of the AZAL plane following an unintentional action by air defense systems in Russian airspace. This was stated in a joint statement by the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Azerbaijan.

The passenger plane Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines, operating a flight from Baku to Grozny, crashed on December 25, 2024, near the Kazakh city of Aktau. There were 67 people on board: 62 passengers and 5 crew members, citizens of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Thirty-eight people perished.

Source: TASS