The Soviet Union disagreed with the Margo Commission and issued its own report. It accused South African government of undermining its expertise and experience. The Soviet report focused on the 37 degrees' right turn that led the plane into the hills of Mbuzini. It rejected the finding of the Margo Commission. It strengthened suspicions of the involvement of the South African security forces. It suggested that the plane was deliberately diverted by a false navigational beacon signal, using technology provided by Israeli intelligence agents.
Samora Machel's Relationaship with the Soviet Union:
While he was president, Samora Machel supported and allowed revolutionaries fighting white minority regimes in Rhodesia and South Africa to operate within Mozambique. Soon after Mozambique's independence both of these countries attacked Mozambique with an anti-Frelimo organization called RENAMO. RENAMO's activities included: the killing of peasants, the destruction of schools and hospitals built by Frelimo,and the blowing up of railway lines and hydroelectric facilities. The Mozambique economy was strangled by these depredations, and began to depend on overseas aid - in particular from the Soviet Union.