Zakharova emphasized the importance of joining efforts in the investigation of the plane in Aktau

In the situation with the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) airplane in Kazakhstan's Aktau, everyone needs the truth, and it is necessary to join efforts to find it. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a briefing on January 16.

"We all need the truth. <...> I think we need to do everything now, as it was said by both the president of our country and the foreign minister, to unite efforts to find this truth," Zakharova said.

She emphasized that the truth wants to know not only citizens of Azerbaijan, who were affected by this tragedy, but also people in Russia.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed that a large number of attempts to influence the situation with destructive purposes through the media and social networks from different sides are recorded. Perhaps this is done to divert the investigation in another direction or even to sow discord between people.

Zakharova said that one of the examples of this is the material received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Internet, written in literate English, which was passed off as a letter on behalf of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Azerbaijani diplomats. The Ministry has already refuted the document.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out that such things are beneficial to those who want to harm allied relations between Moscow and Baku, step by step destroy the pan-European aviation logistics and violate the freedom of air travel, including from the Russian territory.

Zakharova recalled that against the backdrop of the tragedy with the airplane, the Russian and Azerbaijani leaders set the task to carry out painstaking work to establish the truth about what happened to the aircraft and who is to blame. The relevant bodies are engaged in the fulfillment of these tasks, and the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry urged to wish them good luck so that they maximize their professional potential and find answers to all questions.

The day before, January 15, the official representative of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia, Svetlana Petrenko, said that after the plane crash in Aktau, a complex forensic and aviation-technical expertise had been appointed.

At the same time, the press service of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan reported that the decoded data of the "black boxes" of the fallen airplane had been delivered to the republic. After a detailed study of all the facts and materials will be published a preliminary report, which will also include information on the progress of the investigation.

The "black boxes" weredecoded in Brazil by employees of the Brazilian Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents (CENIPA) and nine technical specialists from Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on January 14 that the decoding of the black boxes does not confirm some preliminary conclusions voiced in the media. The minister urged to wait for the results of a full-fledged investigation. Lavrov added that Moscow highly appreciates the development of relations with Baku, the two states can solve any issues, including those related to the plane crash, on which a number of consultations have been scheduled.

A passenger plane of AZAL Airlines, heading from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. A criminal case was opened after the incident.

There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. Thirty-eight people died, among them were seven Russians. Nine injured citizens of the Russian Federation were taken to Moscow for treatment, three of them still remain in hospital.