Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Dec 25.
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
Putin told Aliyev in a phone call that Russian air defence was active when the Azerbaijani plane tried to land at Grozny in Chechnya before it crashed, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Russian leader did not claim responsibility for crash, while apologising that the incident took place in Russian airspace.
“Vladimir Putin had presented his apologies that the tragic incident happened in Russia’s airspace and again expressed his deep and genuine condolences to the families of the dead, wishing a quick recovery to those affected,” the statement said.
“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.”
Russia said it was “closely” cooperating with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash investigation.
Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest they believe the plane was hit mid-air, while the United States has said it had “early indications” Russian air defence may have been responsible for the crash.
Two passengers and one crew member on the plane told Reuters earlier that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny.
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
Putin told Aliyev in a phone call that Russian air defence was active when the Azerbaijani plane tried to land at Grozny in Chechnya before it crashed, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Russian leader did not claim responsibility for crash, while apologising that the incident took place in Russian airspace.
“Vladimir Putin had presented his apologies that the tragic incident happened in Russia’s airspace and again expressed his deep and genuine condolences to the families of the dead, wishing a quick recovery to those affected,” the statement said.
“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.”
Russia said it was “closely” cooperating with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash investigation.
Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest they believe the plane was hit mid-air, while the United States has said it had “early indications” Russian air defence may have been responsible for the crash.
Two passengers and one crew member on the plane told Reuters earlier that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny.
