Putin apologizes to Aliyev over Azerbaijani plane crash in Kazakhstan

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, for the crash of an Azerbaijani plane in Kazakhstan last Wednesday.

The Kremlin reported that Putin informed Aliyev that “Russian air defenses were active when the Azerbaijani Airlines plane attempted to land in Grozny before crashing.”

In a phone call to Aliyev, Putin explained that “during this time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defenses countered these attacks.” However, Putin did not clarify whether Russian air defenses directly hit the plane.

Aliyev confirmed to Putin that the ill-fated plane experienced unusual physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, leading to a total loss of control.

The Azerbaijani plane was en route from Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of Russia's Chechen Republic, when it diverted to Kazakhstan and crashed during an emergency landing attempt. The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, with 29 survivors.

On Friday, Azerbaijani Airlines stated that preliminary results indicated the plane had experienced "external physical and technical interference."

Several reports on Thursday suggested that Azerbaijani authorities believe a Russian anti-aircraft missile caused the crash. According to unnamed senior Azerbaijani officials quoted by Turkiye's Anadolu Agency, a "Pantsir-S" anti-aircraft missile struck the Embraer 190 plane.