Azerbaijan Airlines crash: Putin apologizes to Aliyev that "tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace"
During a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, during which they discussed the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that "the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace."
According to Censor.NET, citing the Russian propaganda outlet Ria Novosti, this is stated in the Kremlin's statement regarding the telephone conversation between Putin and Aliyev.
It is noted that during the telephone conversation, which took place on the initiative of the Russian side, the issue of the crash of the passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines on December 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan was discussed in detail.
"Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. In the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was flying strictly according to the schedule, repeatedly tried to land at the Grozny airport. At this time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks," the statement said.
It is also reported that two employees of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan are currently in Grozny, where they are working together with representatives of the General Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee of Russia.
"The specialized services of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are closely cooperating at the crash site near the city of Aktau," the statement added.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan
On December 25, an Embraer plane en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
38 people died as a result of the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. According to one version in the media, the plane could have been hit by air defense systems over the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to media reports, a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau.
Defense Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov said that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system.
Azerbaijan expects Russia to officially recognize the downing of the passenger plane, Reuters reports.
The spokesman for the Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on information about Russia's involvement in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people over the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane and said that the facts indicate Russia's responsibility for the tragedy.