Vladimir Putin says the incident occurred in Russian airspace but does not acknowledge possible Russian involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident.” after the fatal crash an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan this week.
The plane flew from Azerbaijan on Wednesday Capital Baku to Groznythe regional capital of the Russian Republic of Chechnya when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting to land. 38 people were killed.
In a statement on Saturday, the Kremlin said Russian air defense systems fired near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but did not say that one of them hit the plane.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident in Russian airspace, once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery,” the Kremlin said.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems were able to repel these attacks.”
Authorities across Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are investigating as speculation continues to simmer about what led to the plane’s crash.
Statements from Azerbaijani officials indicate that Baku believes the plane was hit in mid-air, while the United States said it had “early indications that Russian air defenses may be responsible for the crash.”
Also experts said Al Jazeera this week that Russian air defense officials may have attacked the plane after panicking during the Ukrainian drone strike.
In addition to a number of factors that raised suspicions of Moscow’s possible involvement, they also pointed to the damage to the aircraft.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called on Saturday for a “swift, independent international investigation” into the crash.
Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from the Russian capital Moscow, noted that Putin did not acknowledge any role of Russian forces in the crash during his conversation with Aliyev.
“The Russian president admits for the first time that this incident occurred over Russian airspace, but does not admit that the Russian military may have been involved in the destruction of the incident,” Jabbari said.
She added that the incident came amid increasing Ukrainian drone strikes and attacks on Russian territory in recent weeks.
“What we are seeing now is that after three years of this conflict (between Ukraine and Russia) … more and more the civilian population in Russia is feeling this.” Your country is at warJabbari said.
“External interference”
Aliyev, the Azerbaijani PresidentPutin said during their talks on Saturday that the plane “was subjected to external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, which led to a complete loss of control,” a statement from the presidential office said.
It added that Aliyev “highlighted that the numerous holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries to passengers and crew due to foreign particles entering the cabin during the flight, and statements from surviving flight attendants and passengers provide evidence of physical and technical interference by confirm externally”.
This was confirmed by Rashan Nabiyev, the country’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, who told Azerbaijani media that preliminary conclusions from experts and witness statements “point to external impacts.”
“The type of weapon used in the collision will be determined during the investigation,” Nabiyev said.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that the U.S. had seen “some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was shot down by Russian air defense systems.”
Kirby declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Kirby’s allegations: “We have seen these statements. It is inappropriate for the presidential administration to comment on this.”
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Russia was cooperating “closely” with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash.
