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Vladimir Putin telephoned Ilham Aliyev to apologise for the tragic incident. He noted that the plane was landing amid Ukrainian drone attacks on cities in the North Caucasus.
The two leaders discussed the situation in a telephone conversation initiated by the Russian side. Vladimir Putin apologised for the fact that the tragic incident took place 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.
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The Kremlin noted that the Azerbaijani plane made several attempts to land at Grozny airport. At the time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defences repelled these attacks,’ the statement said.
The plane crashed three days ago, on 25 December. It was on a flight from Baku to Grozny and made two unsuccessful attempts to land at Grozny airport due to fog, poor visibility and the ‘Kover plan’, which requires all aircraft in the air to land immediately or withdraw from a certain area, Rosaviatsia reported. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died, including seven Russians.
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Azerbaijan Airlines stated that ‘physical and technical external interference’ was the cause, while the Azerbaijani transport ministry also reported ‘external interference’.
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