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Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijan for what he described as a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani airliner over Russian airspace on Christmas Day.
Moscow called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Russian president expressed his “deep and sincere condolences” to the victims’ families, the Kremlin’s press office said Saturday.
Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 was flying from Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day when it crashed over the Caspian Sea near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials have blamed Russian anti-aircraft fire for the crash.
While the Kremlin’s statement on Saturday did not definitively confirm that Russian air defense systems were responsible, it did not deny the allegations.
According to the Kremlin, the plane “repeatedly attempted to land at Grozny airport” while Ukrainian combat drones attacked nearby cities, and Russian air defenses were “responding to these attacks”.
“Vladimir Putin has apologized for the tragic incident in Russian airspace,” the statement said.
A Russian investigative committee, including “interrogating civilian and military experts,” has launched a criminal investigation into alleged violations of aviation security rules, the statement added.
Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian officials are already conducting a formal investigation led by Baku.
Putin’s carefully worded admission contrasts sharply with Moscow’s repeated denials of responsibility for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, which investigators blame on Russian-controlled warplanes.
Russia’s main aviation authority initially suggested that the crash was caused by a bird striking the plane’s engine. Azerbaijan’s president said he was told the plane had been diverted due to bad weather.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday there were “preliminary indications” that the plane had been hit by Russian air defenses. Azerbaijan’s Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev said the same day that the accident was caused by a weapon.
Survivors, including passengers and crew, described the explosion outside the plane as it flew over Grozny.
On Thursday, Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s main aviation authority, admitted that the air situation around Grozny was “very difficult” due to the attack by Ukrainian combat drones.
In response to the disaster, five airlines suspended some flights to Russia.
Turkmenistan Airlines suspended routes from Ashgabat to Moscow while Azerbaijan Airlines, Kazakhstan’s Kazakh Air and UAE’s Flydubai suspended all routes to southern Russia. Israel’s El Al has suspended its Tel Aviv-to-Moscow route.
Additional reporting by Robert Wright in London
