Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to the president of Azerbaijan, Aliyev, for a “tragic incident that took place in Russian air space” and which led to the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines civilian plane in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
Russia had so far refused to comment on the circumstances of the collision that killed 38 passengers, amidst allegations of accidental involvement of the country’s air defence systems.
The two leaders discussed “the details of the incident” according to a statement but Putin did not admit Russian responsibility for the crash.
Air traffic control recordings reveal pilot’s agony
After several reported unsuccessful attempts to receive landing permission at Russian airports, flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines lost control of the aircraft.
It later lost contact with air traffic control staff as well, before it crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, as testified by the recordings of the pilot’s agonising last contact attempts published by the Daily Mail.
The flight had diverted from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities.
The plane crash caused several airlines from nearby countries to temporarily cancel flights to southern Russia until investigation sheds light on the causes of the tragedy.
Russian involvement alleged in Azeri civilian plane crash
Despite sources from Azerbaijan insisting from the beginning that Russia’s air defence was involved in the plane crash, the Kremlin suggested patience until the investigation concluded.
At first, Russia’s aviation watchdog said the emergency may have been caused by a bird strike. On the other hand, multiple sources told Reuters that the plane was struck by a Russian air defence system, causing its communications to paralyse on the approach into its destination airport of Grozny in southern Russia.
Azerbaijan’s transport minister Rashad Nabiyev said on Friday that the plane had been subjected to “external interference” and damaged inside and out as it tried to land.
Also on Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby told a press conference that the US had seen “early indications” that the plane may have been downed by Russian air defence, providing no further comment.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Bozymbaev said he could neither confirm nor deny the scenario that Russian air defences had downed the plane.
The Canadian foreign ministry, through a post on X, called on Russia to allow for “an open and transparent investigation into the incident” and to accept its findings.
Putin’s apology to Azeri counterpart Aliyev
An apology for the incident in Russia’s air space came by phone call between the two leaders on Saturday, prompted by Putin, the Kremlin confirmed.
“Vladimir Putin apologised 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 in a statement.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks,” it added.
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