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Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan for what he described as a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace on Christmas Day.
Moscow phoned Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and the Russian president expressed “deep and honest condolences” to the households of these affected, the Kremlin’s press workplace stated on Saturday.
The Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 airplane was flying from Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day when it diverted throughout the Caspian Sea and crash-landed close to Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 individuals on board.
Senior US and Ukrainian officers blamed Russian anti-aircraft fireplace for the crash.
Though the Kremlin’s assertion on Saturday didn’t explicitly verify that Russian air defence techniques had been accountable, it didn’t deny the allegation.
The plane “repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport” whereas Ukrainian fight drones had been attacking close by cities and Russian air defences had been “responding to those assaults”, in line with the Kremlin.
“Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace”, the assertion stated.
A Russian investigative committee has opened a prison investigation into alleged violations of aviation security laws, with “civilian and navy specialists being questioned”, the assertion added.
Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian officers are already conducting an official investigation, led by Baku.
Putin’s rigorously worded acknowledgment sharply contrasts with Moscow’s repeated denial of duty for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airways flight MH17 over Ukraine, which investigators attributed to Russia-controlled fighter jets.
Russia’s foremost aviation authority had initially steered that the crash was attributable to a chicken strike to the airplane’s engine. Azerbaijan’s president stated he had been instructed the airplane had been diverted as a result of poor climate situations.
On Friday John Kirby, the US Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson, stated there have been “early indications” that the airplane had been hit by Russian air defences. Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s transport minister, stated on the identical day that the crash had been attributable to a weapon influence.
Survivors, together with passengers and crew, have described explosions exterior the airplane because it flew over Grozny.
On Thursday, the pinnacle of Russia’s foremost aviation authority Dmitry Yadrov admitted that air situations round Grozny had been “very troublesome” as a result of assaults from Ukrainian fight drones.
In response to the disaster, 5 airways have suspended some flights to Russia.
Turkmenistan Airways suspended its route from Ashgabat to Moscow whereas Azerbaijan Airways, Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air and the UAE’s Flydubai all suspended routes to southern Russia. Israel’s El Al has suspended its Tel Aviv to Moscow route.
Further reporting by Robert Wright in London
