Since Wednesday’s disaster, suspicion has focused on Russia, which may have accidentally shot down the plane.
If Mr. Putin therefore did not recognize Russia’s responsibility on Saturday, he nevertheless apologized to Mr. Aliev.
Plane crash in Kazakhstan: Azerbaijan Airlines communicates on the reasons for the accident
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that this tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” the Kremlin said.
Earlier, his spokesperson Dmitri Peskov had refused to comment on the White House’s comments which had mentioned a Russian anti-aircraft defense shot.
In addition, several Western experts believe that the images showing a fuselage riddled with holes suggest such a strike.
On Wednesday, an Embraer 190 plane of the Azerbaijani company Azerbaijan Airlines crashed in Aktau, in western Kazakhstan, on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, while the plane was supposed to connect Baku to Grozny, on the opposite bank .
Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board the plane were killed when the plane crashed and caught fire.
