MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the Azerbaijani President for a “tragic incident” that happened after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan, resulting in 38 fatalities.
The Kremlin’s statement explained that the incident occurred near Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, when air defense systems were activated due to a Ukrainian drone attack as the plane was trying to land. However, it did not explicitly state that the plane was shot down by Russian air defenses.
In a summary of the call, the Kremlin revealed that Putin expressed regret to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the occurrence of the tragic incident within Russian airspace.”
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.
On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon.
Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. Neither Kirby or the Azerbaijani minister directly addressed the statements blaming air defenses.
Kirby told reporters on Friday that the U.S. “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.
Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” as does witness testimony.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.
He didn’t comment on statements from some aviation experts, who pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems.
Earlier this week, Rosaviatsia cited unspecified early evidence as showing that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
In the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details.
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