Putin apologizes for Azerbaijan plane crash in Russian airspace, but maintains Russia not at fault

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec 28 apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” following the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this week in Kazakhstan.

The plane was flying on Dec 25 from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting to land.

Thirty-eight people were killed in the crash.

Putin and Ilham Aliyev discussed details of the doomed flight from Baku to Grozny in a phone call on Dec 25, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin in a statement on Dec 28 said Russian air defense systems were firing near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.

“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said.

“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.”

Authorities across Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are investigating as speculation over what brought down the plane continues to swirl.

Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest Baku believes the plane was hit midair, while the United States has said it had “early indications” Russian air defense may have been responsible for the crash.

Experts were quoted as saying that Russian air defense officials could very possibly have struck the plane after panicking during the Ukrainian drone attack.

They pointed to physical damage to the aircraft among a series of factors raising suspicion around Moscow’s possible involvement.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Dec 28 called for a “swift, independent international investigation” into the crash.

Putin did not acknowledge any role Russian forces may have had in the crash during his call with Aliyev, according to Al Jazeera.

“The Russian president [is] acknowledging for the first time that this incident took place over Russian airspace but coming short from admitting the possibility that the Russian military had any part in bringing it down,” Jabbari, Al Jazeera reporter was quoted as saying.

She added that the incident came amid increased Ukrainian drone strikes and attacks on Russian territory in the past weeks.

“What we are now seeing is, after three years of this conflict [between Ukraine and Russia] … more and more, the civilian population within Russia” is feeling that their country is at war, Jabbari said.