Putin apologizes to the Azerbaijani leader for the “tragic incident” with the crashed plane

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart on Saturday for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

The Kremlin said in a statement that air defense systems near Grozny, the regional capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic, fired due to a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. It did not say the plane was shot down by Russian air defenses.

According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

The plane flew from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny, then turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while attempting to land. There were 29 survivors.

On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister issued separate statements blaming an external weapon for the crash.

The assessments Friday by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby were consistent with those of outside aviation experts, who attributed the crash to Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. Neither Kirby nor the Azerbaijani minister directly addressed the statements blaming air defense.

Kirby told reporters Friday that the U.S. has seen “some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was shot down by Russian air defense systems,” but declined to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transport, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions from experts indicate external impacts,” as do witness statements.

Passengers and crew members who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media they heard loud noises inside the plane as it circled over Grozny.

Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that Ukrainian drones targeted the city as the plane prepared to land in Grozny in thick fog, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau in Kazakhstan.

He did not comment on statements by some aviation experts who suggested that holes in the tail section of the plane suggested it may have come under fire from Russian air defense systems.

Earlier this week, Rosaviatsia cited unspecified early evidence that the pilots were diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

In the days after the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical malfunctions” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the malfunction came from, nor were any other details provided.