Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in a phone conversation, in which 38 people lost their lives on Wednesday.
According to the Kremlin, the conversation was initiated by the Russian side. Putin expressed his apologies for the incident occurring in the airspace of the Russian Federation. The statement further read:
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic accident in the Russian airspace, expressed his deepest condolences once again to the families of the victims, and wished the injured a speedy recovery. During the conversation, it was established that the Azerbaijani passenger plane, which was on a regular flight, had attempted to land at the Grozny airport multiple times. At the same time, Grozny, Mosdok, and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and repelled by the Russian air defense.”
The Russian prosecutor’s office is currently investigating the incident in cooperation with their Azerbaijani colleagues. The authorities have launched a criminal case for violating aviation safety regulations.
The plane, which was on its way from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Russia), had deviated from its course and crashed a few kilometers short of the city of Aktau. There were a total of 67 people on board. Initial information suggested a collision with a bird swarm, but later videos emerged hinting at external influences, with damage to the plane resembling rocket attacks, leading to speculation that the plane might have been hit by a defense system while approaching Grozny.
The head of the Russian aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, explained on Friday that the situation near Grozny was challenging at the time of the plane crash. Due to the Ukrainian drone attacks, a security plan was in effect, which had envisioned the immediate rerouting of all planes in the area.