The president of Azerbaijan has not ruled out that the downing of the Russian jet by Turkey in 2015 was a "provocation", Aliyev told this in an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti on 18 October.


He was interviewed by Kremlin's chief spin doctor Dmitry Kiselev, director-general of Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) news agency.


Russian-Turkish ties


Aliyev didn't rule out the involvement of outside forces in the downing of SU-24 jet near the Syria-Turkey border in November 2015, saying that "it was the first thing that came to our mind when it happened".


"It was not in the interests of Turkey. And we could not but suppose that someone had deliberately resorted to such an unfriendly act," he added.


"I think the normalization of the [Russian-Turkish] relations is the restoration of justice, and it is also the elimination of a tragic misunderstanding," he added.


Syria


Speaking about Russia's role in the resolution of the Syrian conflict, Aliyev said that "Russia's approach is fully justified".


Russia is trying "to unite efforts against extremists, terrorists and radicals", he said.


"I think Russia's approach is fully justified, when Russia says the same thing: efforts should be united against extremists, terrorists and radicals. They should not be divided into good and bad ones. Those who are against you are bad and those who are against your rivals are good. Sooner or later, it will boomerang - history has proven that many times," Aliyev said.


He went on to voice the hope that the talks on Syria will yield results. "The main thing is that Syria must remain a unified state, its territorial integrity must be ensured. And the Syrian people must define their fate themselves," Aliyev said.


Media partnership


In the interview, Aliyev also hailed the work of Sputnik news agency, run by Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) news agency, whose branch has operated in Azerbaijan since May 2015.


"I would like to thank your staff working in Azerbaijan for the coverage of events in our country. The beginning of the activities of your agency in Azerbaijan, I think, is the result of the high level of trust between our countries," he added.



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