Putin is sorry for the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines but does not accept blame

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the president of neighboring Azerbaijan for shooting down a commercial plane in Russian airspace, killing 38 people, but stopped short of saying Russia was responsible.

In his first comment on the Christmas Day plane crash, Putin said the “tragic accident” occurred when Russian air defense systems were repelling Ukrainian drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia should “stop spreading disinformation” about the raid.

It is believed that the plane came under fire from Russian air defense while trying to land in the Russian region of Chechnya, forcing it to divert across the Caspian Sea.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane then crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 on board.

Most of the passengers on the plane were from Azerbaijan, others from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Most of them believe Who survived They were sitting in the back of the plane.

Flight J2-8243 was en route from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to the Chechen capital, Grozny, on December 25 when it came under fire and had to change course.

The Kremlin issued a statement on Saturday indicating that Putin spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic accident occurring in Russian airspace, and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery for the injured,” the statement said.

In a rare public apology, Putin also admitted that the plane had repeatedly tried to land at Grozny Airport in Chechnya.

He added that the cities of Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were at that time “under attack by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems responded to these attacks.”

The Kremlin’s reading did not include a direct admission that the plane was bombed by Russian missiles.

In a statement issued shortly after the Kremlin’s announcement, Ukrainian President Zelensky said the damage to the fuselage was “strongly reminiscent of an air defense missile strike,” adding that Russia “must provide clear explanations.”

“The main priority now is to conduct a comprehensive investigation that answers all the questions about what really happened.”

Before Saturday, the Kremlin had done so He refused to say Whether she was involved in the incident remains to be seen, with authorities saying they are awaiting the results of the investigation.

But Russian aviation authorities said earlier in the week that the situation in the region was “extremely complicated” due to Ukrainian drone strikes.

Aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane’s GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming and then damaged by shrapnel from Russian air defense missiles.

Survivors had previously reported that they heard loud noises before the plane crashed, indicating that it had been targeted.

Azerbaijan did not formally accuse Russia this week, but the country’s transport minister said the plane was subjected to “external interference” and suffered damage from the inside and outside as it attempted to land.

US defense officials also said Friday they believe so Russia was responsible To drop.

Moscow indicated that Russian investigators have begun a criminal investigation. Azerbaijan has already announced that it will launch an investigation.

The Kremlin said Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian agencies were “working closely at the disaster site in the Aktau region.”

Even before Putin’s message was published on Saturday, several Azerbaijani airlines had already begun suspending flights to most Russian cities.

One of the airlines said the suspension would remain in place until the investigation into the incident was completed.