Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan’s president for what he called a “tragic incident” after a plane crashed killing 38 people – but stopped short of taking responsibility.
The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya region, when it turned and crashed in Kazakhstan while making an attempt to land on Wednesday.
The Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday that air defence systems were firing near Grozny because of a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these downed the plane.
Some 38 people died in the crash, while there were 29 survivors.
According to a Kremlin readout of a call, the Russian president apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace”.
The UK has called for an independent investigation in a statement critical of Russia’s response issued by the Foreign Office.
“President Putin’s statement fails to recognise that the reckless and irresponsible actions of the Russian state pose an acute and direct threat to the interests and national security of other states,” it said.
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Video shows inside plane before crash
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia “must provide clear explanations” and “stop spreading disinformation” in a call with Azerbaijan’s president.
“The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened,” he said in an X post.
“Photos and videos clearly show the damage to the aircraft’s fuselage, including punctures and dents, which strongly point to a strike by an air defence missile.”
The White House said early indications suggest the plane could have been brought down by Russia, while an Azerbaijani minister also blamed the crash on an external weapon.
Two US military officials told Sky News’ partner network NBC News that America has intelligence indicating Russia may have misidentified the aircraft as a drone and shot it down.
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Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
In the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports.
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