Putin apologizes for the crash of Azerbaijani airlines, without saying that Russia is at fault

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the president of neighboring Azerbaijan for shooting down a commercial plane in Russian airspace, killing 38 people, but stopped short of saying Russia was responsible.

In his first comment on the incident that occurred on Christmas Day, Putin said that the “tragic incident” occurred when Russian air defense systems were actively repelling Ukrainian drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia should “stop spreading disinformation” about the raid.

The plane reportedly came under fire from Russian air defense systems while trying to land in Chechnya, forcing it to divert across the Caspian Sea.

The plane crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 on board.

The Kremlin issued a statement on Saturday indicating that Putin spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized 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 for the injured,” the statement said.

The reading in the Kremlin did not include any direct admission that the plane was hit by a Russian missile.

Before Saturday, the Kremlin refused to say whether it was involved in the incident. But Russian aviation authorities said the situation in the region was “extremely complicated” due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Chechnya.

Aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane’s GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming and then damaged by shrapnel from Russian air defense missiles.

Survivors had previously reported that they heard loud noises before the plane crashed, indicating that it had been targeted.

Azerbaijan did not formally accuse Russia this week, but the country’s transport minister said the plane was subjected to “external interference” and suffered damage from the inside and outside while trying to land.

US defense officials also said Friday they believe Russia was responsible for shooting down the plane.

In a statement issued shortly after the Kremlin meeting, Zelensky said the damage to the fuselage was “strongly reminiscent of an air defense missile strike,” adding that Russia “must provide clear explanations.”

“The main priority now is to conduct a comprehensive investigation that answers all the questions about what really happened.”

In a phone call on Saturday, Putin admitted that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane repeatedly tried to land at Grozny Airport in Chechnya on December 25.

At that time, Grozny in Chechnya and Mozdok and Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia. Putin said, according to the Kremlin statement, that Ukrainian drones were attacked, and that Russian air defense systems repelled those attacks.

Moscow indicated that Russian investigators have begun a criminal investigation. Azerbaijan has already announced that it will launch an investigation.

The Kremlin said Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian agencies were “working closely at the disaster site in the Aktau region.”