Putin apologizes to Aliyev for Azerbaijan Airlines crash, avoids taking blame

Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for a “tragic incident” which happened in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday.

Putin called Aliyev as speculation grew that Russian air defense may have accidentally shot down the plane, which crashed in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, earlier this week.

The Russian leader did not claim responsibility for the crash, while apologizing to Aliyev that the incident took place in Russian airspace.

“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred 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 in a statement.

Putin told Aliyev that Russian air defense was active when the Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before it crashed.

“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defense was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defense hit the plane.

The Kremlin said the pair had discussed questions around the crash “in detail.”

It also said it was “closely” cooperating with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash.

Aliyev told Putin that the Azerbaijani plane was first hit by “external physical and technical interference” over Russia.

“President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control,” Baku’s presidency said in a statement.

It added Aliyev “highlighted that the multiple holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight, and testimonies from surviving flight attendants and passengers confirm evidence of external physical and technical interference.”

Putin also spoke with his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on Saturday, urging an “objective and transparent” investigation into the plane crash.

“The Kazakh government commission tasked with investigating all the details of the incident will call on Russian, Azerbaijani and Brazilian experts... This work carried out on the Kazakhstan’s territory will be objective and transparent,” Putin told Tokayev, according to the Kremlin.

Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest Baku believes the plane was hit mid-air, while the US has said it had “early indications” Russian air defense may have been responsible for the crash.
Zelenskyy: Russia ‘must stop spreading disinformation’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday he expressed condolences to Aliyev about the Azeri plane. The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of “spreading disinformation.”

“The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation," Zelenskyy said in a statement on X after the call.

The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday called for a “swift, independent” probe into the crash.

“I call for a swift, independent international investigation,” Kaja Kallas wrote on X, saying that reports that the crash could have been caused by Russian fire were “a stark reminder” of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014.