Putin Offers Apology for Azerbaijani Plane Crash Without Admitting Responsibility
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin offered an apology to his Azerbaijani counterpart for the “tragic incident” involving a downed Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan, which resulted in 38 fatalities. However, he refrained from accepting responsibility.
Putin’s expression of regret followed allegations suggesting Russian air defenses, attempting to intercept a Ukrainian drone near Grozny, Chechnya, may have shot down the aircraft.
A formal Kremlin statement clarified that air defense systems were active near Grozny airport when the airliner made repeated landing attempts on Wednesday. The statement avoided explicitly confirming a direct hit.
The statement detailed Putin’s apology to President Ilham Aliyev, emphasizing that the tragic event unfolded within Russian airspace.
Russia has initiated a criminal investigation, with Azerbaijani state prosecutors collaborating in Grozny. Joint investigations by Russian, Azerbaijani, and Kazakhstani authorities are underway at the crash site near Aktau, Kazakhstan.
The aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny, veered towards Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers from its destination, before crashing during a landing attempt. Twenty-nine passengers survived.
According to Aliyev’s press office, the Azerbaijani president informed Putin of “external physical and technical interference” affecting the plane, though he also stopped short of directly blaming Russian air defenses.
Aliyev noted the presence of multiple holes in the fuselage and injuries sustained by occupants due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin during flight.
He mentioned an international expert team investigating the incident, initiated by Azerbaijan, but offered no specifics. Earlier this week, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office confirmed the presence of Azerbaijani investigators in Grozny.
A U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister separately attributed the crash to an external weapon, corroborating aviation experts’ assessments pointing to Russian air defense systems reacting to a Ukrainian attack.
Surviving passengers and crew members recounted hearing loud noises as the aircraft circled Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, stated that during the plane’s attempted landing in dense fog, Ukrainian drones targeted Grozny, prompting airspace closure.
Yadrov explained that after two unsuccessful landing attempts, the captain was offered alternative airports but opted for Aktau.
Earlier, Rosaviatsia had suggested, based on preliminary evidence, that a bird strike caused an onboard emergency.
Following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines cited “physical and technical interference,” suspending flights to several Russian airports without specifying the source of the interference or offering further details.
If confirmed, the crash would represent a second deadly civil aviation incident linked to the conflict in Ukraine. The downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, resulting in 298 fatalities, involved a Russian surface-to-air missile.
While Russia has denied responsibility, a Dutch court in 2022 convicted individuals for their involvement in the incident using an air defense system from a Russian military base.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced Friday it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.
Other airlines have followed suit. Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air suspended flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg for a month.
Turkmenistan Airlines suspended flights to Moscow for at least a month due to safety concerns. El Al also suspended service from Tel Aviv to Moscow, citing developments in Russian airspace.