The Russian government cautioned against promoting “hypotheses” about the cause of the crash of a Russia-bound passenger plane.
The crash killed 38 people in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, prompting various speculations about its cause.
Aviation experts claimed that air defense systems struck the Azerbaijan Airlines plane over Chechnya.
Pro-government media in Azerbaijan quoted officials saying a Russian missile was responsible for the crash.
Before crashing near the Kazakh city of Aktau, the plane diverted across the Caspian Sea.
Originally destined for Chechnya, the plane was redirected to western Kazakhstan.
Twenty-nine of the 67 people on board survived the crash.
Azerbaijan held a National Day of Mourning on Thursday for the victims of the crash.
“This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people,” President Ilham Aliyev said.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged against putting forward any hypotheses before the investigation’s conclusions.
“We need to wait until the investigation is completed,” Peskov stated.
The chief prosecutor in Kazakhstan later confirmed that the investigation had not yet reached any conclusions.
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However, some Azerbaijani media commentators expect Russia to admit shooting down the plane.
Several Azerbaijani TV channels started broadcasting interviews with experts discussing the possibility of Russian responsibility.
AnewZ channel reported that a preliminary investigation concluded shrapnel from a Russian missile hit the plane.
Another pro-government website, Caliber, quoted sources saying Baku expected an apology from Russia.
The chief prosecutor’s office in Baku confirmed that investigators are examining every version.
Azerbaijani officials are cautious about directly blaming Russia without concrete evidence.
The investigation committee, comprising Azerbaijani and Kazakh officials, is waiting for Russia to announce its findings.
Moscow will need to answer questions about why it did not close its airspace if there was military activity.
Additionally, Russia must explain why it directed the plane towards Aktau instead of allowing it to land sooner.
