Vladimir Putin admitted on Saturday, according to the Kremlin, that Russian air defense was in action on Wednesday when an Azerbaijani plane attempted to land. The plane carrying 67 people crashed shortly after in Kazakhstan, killing 38 passengers.
In a telephone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, the Russian president indicated that “the Azerbaijani airliner had repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport [capitale de la Tchétchénie]. At the same time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defenses repelled these attacks.
Western suspicions
The Russian president, however, did not indicate whether the plane had been hit by these defenses. Since Wednesday’s disaster, suspicion has focused on Russia, which may have accidentally shot down the plane. If Vladimir Putin did not recognize Russia’s responsibility on Saturday, he “apologized for the fact that this tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” the Kremlin said.
Earlier, his spokesperson Dmitri Peskov 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.
EU calls for investigation
“I call for a rapid and independent international investigation,” wrote the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, on brutal” of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, shot down by a pro-Russian rebel missile over Ukraine in 2014. The crash left 298 dead.
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 .
