Putin apologizes over 'tragic' Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic” Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people on board, but stopped short of admitting any responsibility for the incident.

Putin apologized to Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace, and once again expressed deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured,” according to the Kremlin’s readout of the call that was released on Saturday.

The Kremlin said its military defense systems were active against Ukraine’s drone strikes in the area where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight, carrying 67 passengers, was attempting to land.

The plane, an Embraer 190 aircraft model, was flying Wednesday from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny, a city in Russia’s Chechnya republic, a region of the country that has often used air defense system to shoot down Ukraine’s drones.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to land, the aircraft crashed near Aktau, a city in southwestern Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea.

On Friday, the White House said the “early indications” showed that Russia’s air defense systems were responsible for downing the plane. The same day, Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement that the airline’s plane was knocked down by “physical and technical external interference.”

Azerbaijan Airlines suspended some flights to Russia, including those to Grozny.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he also spoke with Aliyev and expressed condolences to him and the country.

“We acknowledged the heroism of the pilots and the entire crew of the aircraft,” Zelensky said in a Saturday statement on X, adding that Russia has to provide a “clear” explanation for the incident and “stop spreading disinformation.”

“Photos and videos clearly show the damage to the aircraft’s fuselage, including punctures and dents, which strongly point to a strike by an air defense missile,” he said while adding that the two sides “agreed to intensify bilateral contacts in the near future.”

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