In a recent development, Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended an apology to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev following the tragic crash of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, which claimed the lives of 38 individuals.
However, Putin refrained from attributing the responsibility of the incident to Russia.
The incident, which took place on Christmas Day, was the subject of Putin's first public comments. He described it as a "tragic incident" that transpired while Russian air defense systems were engaged in countering Ukrainian drones. According to BBC, the ill-fated aircraft was reportedly targeted by Russian air defense systems as it attempted to land in Chechnya, leading to its diversion across the Caspian Sea.
The aircraft met its unfortunate end in Kazakhstan, resulting in the death of 38 of the 67 passengers on board. The Kremlin issued a statement on Saturday, revealing that Putin had communicated with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev via a phone call. The statement quoted Putin as saying, "(President) Vladimir Putin apologised 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."
Prior to this, the Kremlin had maintained silence on the crash. However, Russian aviation authorities had previously described the regional situation as "very complicated" due to the Ukrainian drone strikes on Chechnya. Aviation experts and other informed sources in Azerbaijan suspect that the plane's GPS systems were compromised by electronic jamming, and the aircraft was subsequently damaged by shrapnel from Russian air defense missile blasts.
Survivors' accounts of hearing loud bangs before the crash lend credence to the theory that the plane was targeted. While Azerbaijan has not officially pointed fingers at Russia, the country's transport minister has suggested that the plane was subjected to "external interference" and sustained damage both internally and externally during its landing attempt.
US defense officials also expressed their belief on Friday that Russia was responsible for the downing of the aircraft. During his phone call with Aliyev, Putin acknowledged that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane had made multiple attempts to land at Grozny airport in Chechnya on December 25. He stated that at the time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian drones, which were being countered by Russian air defense systems.
The Kremlin's statement also noted that a criminal investigation has been initiated by Russian investigators. This follows Azerbaijan's announcement of its own investigation into the incident. As this story continues to unfold, further updates will be provided as they become available.
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