Putin offers apology to Azerbaijani president for "tragic plane incident" in Russian airspace

During a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has apologised for the "tragic incident" involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that occurred in Russian airspace.

Source: Kremlin website

Quote: "Vladimir Putin has apologised for the tragic incident that took place in Russian airspace, once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was flying strictly according to the schedule, had repeatedly tried to land at the airport in Grozny.

At the time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian military drones, with Russian air defence systems working to repel these strikes."

Details: The Kremlin reported that two officials from the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office are in Grozny, working alongside representatives from Russia's General Prosecutor's Office and Investigative Committee.

"The specialised services of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are also closely cooperating at the crash site near the city of Aktau [the administrative centre of Kazakhstan's Mangistau Oblast]," the Russians claimed.

Why this is important: Putin did not acknowledge that Russian air defences had shot down the plane, instead offering an apology for the "incident" that occurred in Russian airspace.

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