In a major development, Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev over the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 onboard. There were allegations that Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed because it came under Russian fire. Putin’s apology has substantiated these claims.
Putin said that the civilian plane was fired upon when Russia was trying to repel Ukrainian drones.
“The Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” said the Kremlin.
Putin described the crash as a ‘tragic incident’ that occurred in Russian airspace.
“(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,” the Kremlin’s statement read.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ flight J2-8243 crashed on Christmas Day near Kazakhstani city of Aktau. The passenger plane was travelling from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia) when it was re-routed to Aktau (Kazakhstan) due to fog in Grozny.
The crash was recorded by people present near the crashsite. The horrific video was doing rounds on social media.
Another disturbing video was one recorded by a passenger of the ill-fated plane. The man was able to record before-and-after video of the crash. It was evident from the video that passengers were distressed even when the plane was in the air. Several of them could be seen standing inside the cabin when the plane was in the air. The video then shows the carnage after the crash.
On Saturday, statements from Azerbaijan Airlines cited by CNN hinted at the possibility that the airline wanted to suggest factors beyond its control were responsible for the crash.
The airline reportedly said initial investigations suggested that the crash occurred due to ‘physical and technical external interference.’
Ukraine was very vocal in the immediate aftermath of the crash against Russia. Several leaders of the Ukrainian government have been repeating their demand that Russia should be held liable for the crash. Russia previously warned against any speculation but apology from Putin has confirmed initial allegations as well as Azerbaijan Airlines’ claims in its statement.