Putin apologises to Azerbaijani president for 'tragic incident' in Russian airspace

Russian president Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev "for the tragic incident in Russian airspace" following Wednesday's Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

"Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured," the Kremlin said following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

According to the Kremlin, Putin admitted that Russian anti-aircraft defences were active when the Azerbaijani plane made several attempts to land at Grozny airport. Shortly afterwards, the plane crashed in Kazakhstan.

"At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks," the Kremlin said, without saying whether the plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire.

'external physical and technical interference'

In the conversation, Aliyev stressed that the numerous holes in the body of the plane, the injuries of passengers and crew, and the testimonies of flight attendants and surviving passengers confirm the evidence of "external physical and technical interference", according to a press release from the Azerbaijani presidency summarising the conversation.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke to Aliyev by telephone and expressed his condolences. The main priority now is a thorough investigation of what exactly happened, Zelensky said on X. 

Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for Foreign Affairs, also called for a swift and independent international investigation into the crash on Saturday. Reports of Russian anti-aircraft fire as a possible cause are a "stark reminder" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was brought down by a missile fired by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine in 2014, she said on X.

^{Emergency specialists work at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near the western Kazakh city of Aktau on 25 December 2024 © PHOTO HANDOUT / KAZAKHSTAN'S EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MINISTRY / AFP}