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Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijan for what he called a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace on Christmas Day.
Moscow called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Russian president expressed his “deep and sincere condolences” to the families of those affected, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 plane was flying from Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day when it crossed the Caspian Sea and crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials blamed Russian anti-aircraft fire for the crash.
Although the Kremlin’s statement on Saturday did not explicitly confirm responsibility for Russian air defense systems, it did not deny the allegation.
The plane “repeatedly attempted to land at Grozny airport” while Ukrainian combat drones attacked nearby towns and Russian air defenses “responded to these attacks,” according to the Kremlin.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace,” the statement said.
A Russian investigative committee has opened a criminal investigation into alleged violations of air safety rules, with “civilian and military specialists questioned”, the statement added.
Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian officials are already conducting an official investigation, led by Baku.
Putin’s carefully worded acknowledgment contrasts sharply with Moscow’s repeated denial of any responsibility for the 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which investigators attributed to a surface-to-air missile fired from territory held by rebel-backed rebels. through Moscow in eastern Ukraine. Dutch court finds three men with ties to Russian military guilty of murder for their role in the incident.
Richard Giragosian, director of the Center for Regional Studies, a Yerevan-based think tank, said the Kremlin’s statement “was both unexpected and out of character” for Putin.
He said the move “reveals the overall weakness of Russia’s position” as Moscow continues its war in Ukraine. Putin “clearly values his relationship with Turkey, the patron state of Azerbaijan, more than anything else,” he added.
Andrei Kolesnikov, a Moscow-based political scientist, said that following the plane crash, “Azerbaijani society became anti-Russian overnight.”
Russia’s top aviation authority initially suggested the accident in Kazakhstan was caused by a bird strike on the plane’s engine. Azerbaijan’s president said he was told the plane had been diverted due to bad weather conditions.
On Friday, John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said there were “early indications” that the plane had been hit by Russian air defenses. Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s transport minister, said the same day that the accident was caused by a weapon impact.
Survivors, including passengers and crew, described explosions outside the plane as it flew over Grozny.
On Thursday, the head of Russia’s main aviation authority, Dmitry Yadrov, admitted that air conditions around Grozny were “very difficult” due to Ukrainian combat drone attacks.
In response to the disaster, five airlines suspended some flights to Russia.
Turkmenistan Airlines suspended its route between Ashgabat and Moscow, while Azerbaijan Airlines, Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air and the United Arab Emirates’ Flydubai all suspended routes to southern Russia. The Israeli company El Al has suspended its connection between Tel Aviv and Moscow.
Additional reporting by Robert Wright in London
