SEAToday.com, Istanbul - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says the passenger plane that crashed last week near the Kazakh city of Aktau was damaged by gunshots from the ground.

In an interview with Azerbaijani television on Sunday (12/29), Aliyev said a preliminary investigation into the cause of the fatal crash has begun, but more complete answers will emerge after examination of the plane's black boxes.

“The facts show that the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft suffered external damage on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that electronic warfare devices made our plane lose control,” he said.

“At the same time, due to weapons fire from the ground, the tail of the aircraft was also severely damaged,” he added.

Aliyev also stated that, based on the many holes in the plane's body, the theory that the plane struck a flock of birds has been completely ruled out.

He then called the theory of an onboard explosion put forward by Russia regrettable and shocking and said it showed that Moscow was trying to cover up the incident.

While saying that there can be no talk of a deliberate act of terror as the cause of the crash, Aliyev reiterated that the accident will be fully investigated in detail.

Regarding what Azerbaijan expects from Russia, Aliyev said he has told Moscow that Azerbaijan wants an official apology first.

“Secondly, Russia must admit its mistake. Third, those responsible must be punished and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state, as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions,” he said.

On Wednesday ( 12/25), an Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Azerbaijan's capital Baku to Grozny in Russia's Chechen Republic crashed three kilometers from Aktau on the Caspian Sea coast.