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| The Azerbaijani plane crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday | Photo: Reuters |
Four US sources familiar with the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation into the plane crash told on Thursday.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was inappropriate to make any assumptions before reaching a conclusion through the investigation.
The plane (Flight J2-8243) 'crashed' near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, killing 38 people. There were 67 passengers and crew on board.
The plane was flying from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in the Russian region of Chechnya. At one point, the plane was diverted.
The aircraft was in an area where Russia has repeatedly used air defense systems against Ukrainian drones.
However, the Russian air traffic control agency said the plane had encountered an emergency situation, which could have been caused by a bird strike.
The closest Russian airport on the plane's route was Makhachkala, which was closed on Wednesday morning.
An Azerbaijani source familiar with the investigation into the crash told Reuters that initial findings showed the plane was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system.
The source also said that the plane's communications became ineffective during its approach to Grozny due to electronic warfare systems.
The source said that no one is claiming that the plane was shot down intentionally. However, Baku hopes that taking into account established information, the Russian authorities will admit to shooting down the Azerbaijani plane.
Three other sources confirmed that the Azerbaijani investigation had reached the same preliminary conclusion. Reuters sought comment from the Russian Defense Ministry on the Azerbaijani investigation, but it did not respond to Reuters' request.
A US official told Reuters on Thursday that there were initial indications that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have hit the Azerbaijani flight.
Canada, on the other hand, said it was deeply concerned by reports that the plane was hit by Russian air defense systems.
Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Buzumbayev said he could not say for sure that the Russian air defense system shot down the plane, but he could not deny it either.