MOSCOW — On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his apologies to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regarding what he described as a “tragic incident” after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan, resulting in 38 fatalities, yet he refrained from admitting any responsibility from Moscow.
Putin’s expression of regret came amid increasing accusations that Russian air defenses may have shot down the aircraft while targeting a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
A Kremlin statement released on Saturday indicated that air defense systems were in operation near Grozny airport as the airliner made several attempts to land on Wednesday. However, it did not clearly state that one of these systems struck the plane.
The statement included Putin’s apology to Aliyev, expressing remorse for the “tragic incident occurring in Russian airspace.”
It also mentioned that Russia has initiated a criminal investigation into the crash, with Azerbaijani state prosecutors already present in Grozny to join the effort. Additionally, relevant agencies from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are collaborating on the investigation at the crash site close to Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The ill-fated aircraft was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, to Grozny when it reversed course toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers across the Caspian Sea from its target, ultimately crashing while attempting to land. Out of the total casualties, there were 29 survivors.
A summary of Aliyev’s conversation with Putin, released by his press office, indicated that the Azerbaijani president suggested the plane had experienced “external physical and technical interference,” while he, too, stopped short of directly blaming Russian air defenses.
Aliyev remarked that the aircraft bore multiple punctures in its body and that passengers sustained injuries from “foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”
He noted that an international team of experts had commenced an investigation into the event at Azerbaijan’s request, though further specifics were not disclosed. Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s office confirmed earlier in the week that investigators from Azerbaijan were operating in Grozny.
On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister separately blamed the crash on an external weapon, reinforcing claims made by aviation specialists who suggested that Russian air defense systems may have reacted to a Ukrainian assault.
Responding to a journalist’s inquiry regarding whether Putin should assume accountability for the crash, President Joe Biden commented on Saturday: “Apparently he did but I haven’t spoken to him.” Biden made these remarks following a church service in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Survivors from the crash recounted to Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises during their aircraft’s circling above Grozny.
Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, stated that as the plane approached Grozny amidst thick fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting airspace restrictions.
Yadrov explained that following the captain’s unsuccessful landing attempts, alternative airports were suggested, but the captain opted to reroute to Aktau.
Previously, Rosaviatsia had indicated initial evidence pointing to a bird strike causing an in-flight emergency.
In the aftermath of the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines attributed the incident to “physical and technical interference” and announced a suspension of flights to several Russian airports. However, they did not specify the nature of the interference.
Should it be established that the plane went down due to Russian fire, this would mark the second fatal civil aviation accident associated with the conflict in Ukraine. The previous tragic event, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile in 2014, resulting in the deaths of all 298 passengers as it traversed an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-aligned separatists.
Russia has consistently denied any responsibility, yet a Dutch court found two Russians and a pro-Russian Ukrainian guilty in 2022 for their involvement in downing the aircraft using an air defense system transported from a Russian military base to Ukraine.
In light of Wednesday’s cessation of flights between Baku and Grozny, along with nearby Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday that it would also suspend services to an additional eight Russian cities.
Soon after the crash, several other airlines made similar announcements. Qazaq Air from Kazakhstan declared on Friday a temporary halt on flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. Turkmenistan Airlines also suspended operations to Moscow for at least a month, citing safety concerns, while Israel’s El Al ended service from Tel Aviv to the Russian capital, also due to “developments in Russia’s airspace.”
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