Vladimir Putin says the incident occurred in Russian airspace, but does not acknowledge any possible Russian involvement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for what he described as a “tragic accident” following this week’s fatal Azerbaijani Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan.
On Wednesday, the plane was on its way from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, when it headed towards Kazakhstan and crashed while trying to land. Thirty-eight people were killed.
The Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday that Russian air defense systems opened fire near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying that one of these systems hit the plane.
The Kremlin said: “Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic accident 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 wounded.”
He added: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”
Authorities across Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are investigating as speculation continues as to what caused the plane to go down.
Statements by Azerbaijani officials indicate that Baku believes the plane was hit in the air, while the United States said it had “early indications” that Russian air defenses may have been responsible for the incident.
Experts also told Al Jazeera this week that it was very likely that Russian air defense officials hit the plane after a scare during the Ukrainian drone attack.
They cited material damage to the plane among a series of factors raising doubts about Moscow’s possible involvement.
On Saturday, the European Union’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called for a “rapid and independent international investigation” into the incident.
In a report from the Russian capital, Moscow, Dorsa Jabbari from Al Jazeera indicated that Putin did not acknowledge any role that Russian forces may have played in the incident during his call with Aliyev.
Al-Jabbari said: “The Russian President (admits) for the first time that this incident occurred over Russian airspace, but he did not acknowledge the possibility that the Russian army had any role in shooting it down.”
She added that the incident came amid an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes and attacks on Russian territory in recent weeks.
“What we are seeing now is that after three years of this conflict (between Ukraine and Russia)… the civilian population inside Russia increasingly feels that their country is at war,” Jabbari said.
“External interference”
The presidency said in a statement that Azerbaijani President Aliyev told Putin during their talks on Saturday that the plane “encountered external physical and technical interference while it was in Russian airspace, which led to a complete loss of control.”
She added that Aliyev “highlighted the multiple holes in the plane’s fuselage, the injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles that penetrated the cabin mid-flight, and the testimonies of flight attendants and surviving passengers confirming the presence of evidence of external physical and technical interference.”
This was echoed by Rashan Nabiyev, the country’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, who told Azerbaijani media that the preliminary conclusions reached by experts and witness testimonies “point to external influence.”
Nabiyev said: “The type of weapon used in the collision will be determined during the investigation.”
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the United States had seen “some early indications that this plane was certainly shot down by Russian air defense systems.”
Kirby declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.
In response to Kirby’s allegations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We have seen these statements. It is inappropriate for the presidential administration to comment on this matter.”
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Russia was cooperating “closely” with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan over the incident.
