MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he referred to as a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 other people, however stopped wanting acknowledging that Moscow was once accountable. Putin’s apology got here as allegations fixed that the airplane have been shot down by means of Russian air defenses making an attempt to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike close to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya. An reputable Kremlin commentary issued Saturday mentioned that air protection programs had been firing close to Grozny airport because the airliner “again and again” tried to land there on Wednesday. It didn’t explicitly say this sort of hit the airplane. The commentary mentioned Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the truth that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”
Folks attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to the Kazakhstan’s airport of Aktau on the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)
Folks attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to the Kazakhstan’s airport of Aktau on the age of 13, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)Learn Extra
The tomb of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to the Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)
The tomb of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to the Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)Learn Extra
The readout mentioned Russia has introduced a legal probe into the incident, and Azerbaijani state prosecutors have arrived in Grozny to take part. The Kremlin additionally mentioned that “related services and products” from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are collectively investigating the crash web page close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The airplane was once flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it became towards Kazakhstan, masses of kilometers (miles) around the Caspian Sea from its supposed vacation spot, and crashed whilst attempting to land. There have been 29 survivors.
In line with a readout of the decision equipped by means of Aliyev’s press workplace, the Azerbaijani president advised Putin that the airplane was once topic to “exterior bodily and technical interference,” even though he additionally stopped wanting blaming Russian air defenses.Aliyev famous that the airplane had more than one holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained accidents “because of overseas debris penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”
He mentioned {that a} crew of world mavens had begun probing the incident at Azerbaijan’s initiative, however equipped no main points. Previous this week, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor Common’s workplace showed that investigators from Azerbaijan are running in Grozny. On Friday, a U.S. reputable and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an exterior weapon, echoing the ones made by means of aviation mavens who blamed the crash on Russian air protection programs responding to a Ukrainian assault.
Folks attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)
Folks attend a funeral of Mahammadali Eganov, 13 who died within the Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 crash close to Kazakhstan’s Aktau airport, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Picture)Learn Extra
President Joe Biden, responding on Saturday to a reporter asking whether or not he concept Putin will have to take duty for the crash, mentioned: “It appears he did however I haven’t spoken to him.” Biden made the remark after leaving church in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.Passengers and team who survived the crash advised Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises at the airplane because it was once circling over Grozny.Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, mentioned Friday that because the airplane was once making ready to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones had been focused on town, prompting government to near the world to air visitors.
Yadrov mentioned that once the captain made two unsuccessful makes an attempt to land, he was once introduced different airports however made up our minds to fly to Aktau. Previous within the week, Rosaviatsia had cited unspecified early proof as appearing {that a} chook strike resulted in an emergency on board. Within the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airways blamed “bodily and technical interference” and introduced the suspension of flights to a number of Russian airports. It didn’t say the place the interference got here from or supply to any extent further main points.If confirmed that the airplane crashed after being hit by means of Russian hearth, it will be the 2nd fatal civil aviation twist of fate connected to combating in Ukraine. Malaysia Airways Flight 17 was once downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 other people aboard, because it flew over the world in japanese Ukraine managed by means of Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.Russia has denied duty, however a Dutch court docket in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian guy for his or her position in downing the airplane with an air protection gadget introduced into Ukraine from a Russian army base.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozny and close by Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airways introduced Friday that it might additionally halt carrier to 8 extra Russian towns. A number of different airways have made equivalent bulletins for the reason that crash. Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air on Friday mentioned it might forestall flying from Astana to the Russian town of Yekaterinburg within the Ural Mountains for a month.Turkmenistan Airways, the Central Asian nation’s flagship provider, on Saturday halted flights to Moscow for no less than a month, bringing up protection issues. Previous this week, Israel’s El Al provider suspended carrier from Tel Aviv to the Russian capital, bringing up “tendencies in Russia’s airspace.”
