Vladimir Putin has apologised for the “tragic” Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, admitting that “air defence was active” when the plane was taken down.
The Kremlin dictator called Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev to say sorry, though stopped short of saying Russia was responsible.
The aircraft went down in Kazakhstan – in Russian airspace – with 38 people dying and 29 survivors being left with injuries.
Flight J2-8243 came down near the city of Aktau after diverting from its scheduled route from Baku to Grozny.
The aircraft went down over Kazakhstan, which is in Russian airspace
Reuters/Getty
The aircraft had strayed hundreds of miles off course, crossing the Caspian Sea before crashing in a fireball that was captured on video by horrified onlookers.
In a statement, the Kremlin said: “Vladimir Putin apologised for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in the Russian airspace, and once again expressed deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, [and] wished a speedy recovery to the injured.”
The Kremlin said the call took place at Putin’s request.
Discussing the phone call, the Kremlin said: “A detailed discussion was held regarding the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on 25 December near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet Getty“During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly following its scheduled route, had made several attempts to land at the airport in Grozny.
“‘At the time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defence systems were repelling these assaults.”
Prior to its statement today, the Kremlin had not yet commented on the crash.
Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the disaster said on Thursday that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot it down.
A view of the scene after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board, crashed near the Kazakh Caspian city of AktauGetty
US defence officials on Friday had also said they believed Russia was responsible for the plane crash.
National security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday there were “early indications’ the jet was brought down by ‘Russian air defence systems”, though when pressed refused to provide any further details.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
Survivors told authorities they heard three blasts that seemed to come from outside as the aircraft flew over Grozny, suggesting it had been targeted.
Azerbaijan has not officially accused Russia, however, the country’s transport minister said the plane was subject to “external interference” which resulted “in a complete loss of control and redirection to the Kazakh city of Aktau”.