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Putin apologizes to Azerbaijani leader for 'tragic incident' involving crashed Azerbaijani plane

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people

Via AP news wire
Saturday 28 December 2024 13:09 GMT
Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Airliner Crash
Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Airliner Crash (The Administration of Mangystau Region)

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

The plane was flying on Wednesday from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.

In an official statement Saturday, the Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny on Wednesday due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.

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

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