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Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the president of neighboring Azerbaijan for the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace that killed 38 people, but did not say Russia was responsible.
In his first comment on the disaster on Christmas Day, Putin said that the “tragic incident” occurred when Russian air defense systems actively shot down Ukrainian drones.
The plane was reported to have come under fire from Russian air defense systems as it attempted to land in Chechnya, forcing it to divert across the Caspian Sea.
It made an emergency landing in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 on board.
On Saturday, the Kremlin released a statement noting that Putin spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“(President) 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 the victims a speedy recovery,” the report said.
Until Saturday, the Kremlin had not yet commented on the disaster. But Russian aviation authorities said the situation in the region is “very difficult” because of Ukrainian drone strikes in Chechnya.
Aviation experts and other Azerbaijani experts believe that the plane’s GPS systems were affected by radio-electronic interference, and then it was damaged by shrapnel from the explosions of Russian anti-aircraft missiles.
Survivors have previously reported hearing loud bangs before the plane went down, suggesting it was a target.
Azerbaijan did not formally blame Russia this week, but the country’s transport minister said the plane had suffered “external interference” and was damaged internally and externally when it tried to land.
US Defense Department officials also said on Friday that they believed Russia was responsible for the downing.
During Saturday’s phone conversation, Putin admitted that on December 25, an “Azerbaijan Airlines” plane repeatedly tried to land at the Grozny airport in Chechnya.
At the time, Grozny, Mazdak and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled those attacks, Putin said, according to a Kremlin statement.
In Moscow, it was noted that Russian investigative bodies have opened a criminal case. Azerbaijan has already announced the start of the investigation.
