Azerbaijan crash calls for a thorough probe

Russia's statements over the downing of the Azerbaijani commercial aircraft last week throw up more questions than they answer about an incident in which 38 unsuspecting lives were lost.

While President Vladimir Putin apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, the Russian readout on the conversation between the two leaders stopped short of assuming responsibility for the incident. Instead, there was the insinuation that the plane could have been a collateral casualty in the face-off between Russian air defence systems and Ukrainian drones in the region.