Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash: Putin apologizes and deplores “a tragic incident”

Russian President Vladimir Putin presented on Saturday ses excuses to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilam Aliev, according to the Kremlin which described“tragic incident” the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane which took place in Russian airspace on Wednesday.

The Embraer which provided the connection between the Azerbaijani capital Baku and Groznyin Chechnya, crashed near the town of Aktau, Kazakhstan. The accident caused at least 38 deaths among 62 passengers and five crew members who were on board. “President Putin apologized after the tragic incident that took place in Russian airspace and once again expressed his sincere and deep condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured”the Kremlin said on Saturday, adding that the call had taken place at the initiative of Vladimir Putin.

“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani airliner repeatedly tried to land in Grozny. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were under attack from Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks”also declared the Russian presidency.

Ilham Aliev noted that the plane had been “subject to external technical and physical interference in Russian airspace, leading to loss of control and redirection to the Kazakh city of Aktau”according to the Azerbaijani presidential office.