Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart on Saturday for what he called a “tragic incident” after the event crash of an Azerbaijani plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, an Embraer 190, was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Russia’s North Caucasus region on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons not yet known they are completely clear.
It crashed while trying to reach another airport in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan. There were 29 survivors.
Putin’s call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev came after speculation that Russian air defenses may have accidentally shot down the plane.
In an official statement on Saturday, the Kremlin said on Wednesday that air defense systems were firing near Grozny due to an attack by Ukrainian drones, but did not say that one of them had hit the plane.
“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that happened in Russian airspace and again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery,” he said. say the Kremlin in a statement.
The Kremlin said the call took place at Putin’s request.
On Friday, a US official and an Azerbaijani minister issued separate statements blaming the crash on a foreign weapon.