- Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijan for the fatal Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash.
- Putin did not take responsibility, however.
- Experts and the White House say there is evidence the plane may have been hit by Russian air defenses.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to the president of Azerbaijan for the recent fatal Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, but he stopped short of claiming responsibility for the incident.
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Putin apologized during a phone call with Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev.
The Kremlin’s press office said that Putin had “offered his apologies that the tragic incident had occurred in Russia’s airspace and once again conveyed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the plane crash victims and wished those injured the quickest recovery,” per Russia’s Tass news agency.
Azerbaijan Airlines flight Flight 8243 crash-landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. Kazakh authorities said 38 people died, including the pilots, while 29 others survived.
The aircraft was traveling to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, before it diverted to Kazakhstan.
Putin said that Ukrainian drones and Russian air defenses were operating around Grozny as the plane attempted to land, Tass reported.
Azerbaijan’s presidential office confirmed that Putin apologized but emphasized that the crash was caused by the plane being hit in Russian airspace.
“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,” the office said in a statement.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday that the US had “seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems.”
When questioned by media whether the US had seen intelligence that pointed to the involvement of an air defense system, Kirby said the short answer was “yes” but said he would “leave it at that.”
Experts and reports have also pointed to Russia likely being behind the crash. Alleged evidence includes the erratic route the plane took as well as photo and video evidence of the aircraft that shows holes in its fuselage and tail while it was still in the air.
Rashan Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, told the country’s media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” the AP reported.
“The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” he added.
The Kremlin had initially refused to comment on the allegations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: “Currently an investigation is in progress. Any air incident should be investigated by specialized aviation authorities.”
“It would be wrong to build any hypotheses before the panel of inquiry presents its conclusions,” he added.