Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan leader for “tragic incident” involving plane crash in Kazakhstan

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “painful incident” following the incident. The crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan killed 38 people.

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, an Embraer 190, was flying from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku to the city of Grozny in the North Caucasus of Russia on Wednesday when it was diverted for unknown reasons.

It crashed while trying to reach another airport in Aktau, western Kazakhstan. Mobile phone footage appeared to show the plane making a climb before it hit the ground and exploded in a fireball about two kilometers from Aktau airport.

The airline said there were 67 people on board – 62 passengers and five crew members – and 38 people died in the crash. 29 survived.

Putin’s contact with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev comes after speculation grew that Russian air defenses may have accidentally shot down the plane.

In an official statement on Saturday, the Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny on Wednesday in response to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying that one of them had hit the plane.

“(President) Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that took place in the Russian airspace and also conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery,” the Kremlin statement said.

The Kremlin said the call was made at Putin’s request.

According to a readout of the call provided by Aliyev’s office, the Azerbaijani president told Putin that the plane was under “external physical and technical interference,” though he also stopped short of blaming Russian air defenses.

Aliyev noted that the plane had several holes in its fuselage and that passengers suffered injuries “due to foreign particles entering the cabin during the flight.”

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia have all opened investigations into the cause of the crash. The Kremlin appealed people not to jump to conclusions. Investigators found both black boxes, flight data and cockpit voice recorders, at the crash site.

On Friday, a US official and an Azerbaijani minister issued separate statements blaming the crash on a foreign missile.

A U.S. official told CBS News that there are early indications that a Russian jet may have crashed in an area where Ukrainian and Russian forces have traded rocket and missile fire for months. This official, who did not want his name to be disclosed, said that if that is true, it will further emphasize Russia’s recklessness in its progress. invasion of Ukraine.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that US officials “have seen early indications that the plane may have been brought down by Russian air defense systems.”

He assured reporters that the U.S. had intelligence or information indicating that it might have happened, but said that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan were currently investigating and the U.S. “will respect that process.”

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard a loud noise from the plane as it circled over Grozny.