MOSCOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday had a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about this week’s Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan, and gave an apology and condolences.
“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 to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Prior to the crash, the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft had made multiple attempts to land in the city of Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic at a time when Russian air defense systems were actively responding to a Ukrainian drone attack, Putin highlighted.
He told Aliyev that the Russian investigation committee had initiated a case of case 263 of the Criminal Code, which covers the violations of the air and operational protection rules.
“Preliminary research movements are underway, civil and army are consulted,” added the press release.
On Wednesday, a flight from Azerbaiyan Airlines from the Baku in the capital of Azerbaijan in Grozny crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing another 38 people and leaving 29 survivors among the 67 on board.
Two representatives from Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office are currently in Grozny collaborating with Russian officials from the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Committee.
Various services from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are coordinating closely at the crash site near Aktau to manage the aftermath of the disaster.
Evidence of “external and technical interference”
Separately, the Azerbaijani presidency’s press service confirmed that Putin had called Aliyev to express his apologies for the tragic incident.
According to the statement, Aliyev noted that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane faced external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, which Chechnya.
This interference caused the plane to lose complete control, which forced him to move to Aktau, Kazakhstan, where he controlled a tauchdown turn of destiny thanks to the exceptional courage and professionalism of the pilots, reading
The Azerbaijani president highlighted key evidence of interference — numerous holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, passengers and crew injured by penetrating particles during flight, and statements from the team and survivors — which together established the occurrence of external interference.
During their discussion, the two leaders agreed with the need for a complete investigation into the tragic accident and the importance of ensuring that managers are responsible.
Aliyev said that, at the initiative of Azerbaijan, a delegation of foreign members had accumulated to investigate the incident’s reasons and already had his work.
Both presidents underscored their commitment to a transparent investigation process, vowing to keep the public regularly informed of its progress and findings.