Russia’s Putin apologises to Azerbaijan President over ‘tragic’ plane crash

President Vladimir Putin has expressed his apologies to President Ilham Aliyev for the tragic plane crash that occurred in Kazakhstan, involving an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft.

On Wednesday, a plane en route from Baku, Azerbaijan to Grozny, Russia (the capital of Chechnya) veered off course and crashed during a landing attempt in Kazakhstan.

The incident resulted in 38 deaths.

In a statement issued, the Kremlin said Russian air defence systems were firing near Grozny.

“The firing was due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.

“Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace

“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.

“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.

Authorities across Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are investigating as speculation over what brought down the plane continues to swirl.

Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest Baku believes the plane was hit midair.

Meanwhile the United States has said it had “early indications” Russian air defence may have been responsible for the crash.