for the “tragic incident” of , on and , while the Azeri aircraft was trying to land at Grozny airport, however, he did not admit that the aircraft was hit by Russian systems.
“He apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement and clarified: “On conversation it was noted that the Azeri passenger plane, flying according to the plan, repeatedly tried to land at the airport of Grozny. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was hit in Russia by “natural external intervention”, Azeri President Ilhan Aliyev replied to his Russian counterpart, referring to the scenario according to which the Embraer 190 came under fire from Russian air defenses.
“The president emphasized that the multiple holes in the fuselage of the aircraft, the injuries of the passengers and the crew (…) as well as the testimonies of the flight attendants and the passengers who survived, confirm the evidence of physical and technical external intervention”, the text of the announcement issued by the Azeri presidency after the Aliyev-Putin telephone conversation.
Everyone wants an unfettered and transparent investigation
Putin also called his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, today to express his condolences for the at least 38 lives lost in the crash, near Akhtau, in western Kazakhstan, of flight J2-8243. from Baku to Grozny, Chechnya.
According to the Kremlin statement, Putin stressed the need for an “objective and transparent” investigation into the crash of the plane, which Western experts say may have been hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
“The Kazakh government commission responsible for investigating all the details of the incident will turn to experts from Russia, Azerbaijan and Brazil (…) This work, which will be carried out on the territory of Kazakhstan, will be objective and transparent” , Putin said, with the two presidents agreeing to stay in touch regarding the crash investigation.
I spoke to Ilham Aliyev and expressed condolences to him and the people of Azerbaijan regarding the tragic crash of flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines. We acknowledged the heroism of the pilots and the entire crew of the aircraft.
The key priority now is a…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa)
For his part, its president announced that he expressed his condolences to the president of Azerbaijan for the plane crash in Kazakhstan.
“The main priority now is a thorough investigation that will answer all the questions about what happened. Russia must give clear explanations and stop spreading misinformation,” the Ukrainian president wrote to X after his telephone conversation with Ilkhan Aliyev.
The European Union also called for a “quick and independent” investigation into the plane crash.
Reports that Russian fire could have caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane are a stark reminder of .
I call for a swift, independent international investigation.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. I wish for a speedy recovery to the injured.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas)
“I have called for a swift and independent international investigation,” EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas wrote in X, noting that reports that the crash may have been caused by Russian fire were a violent reminder of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian missile operated by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
On Friday, which lead to the possibility that the aircraft was hit by Russian anti-aircraft defense systems”, identifying with the views of Western experts who estimate that the images showing the fuselage of the aircraft full of holes lead to this scenario.
