Russian leader Vladimir Putin told his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, December 28, that Russian air defense was active when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before it crashed, the Kremlin said. Putin called Aliyev as speculation grew that Russian air defense may have accidentally shot down the plane, which crashed in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, earlier this week.
Putin told Aliyev that the plane had tried to land in Grozny "several times" and that "during this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defense was repelling these attacks."
The Russian leader did not claim responsibility for the crash, while apologizing to Aliyev that the incident took place in Russian airspace. "Vladimir Putin had presented his apologies that the tragic incident happened in Russia's air space and again expressed his deep and genuine condolences to the families of the dead, wishing a quick recovery to those affected," the statement said.
The Kremlin said the pair had discussed questions around the crash "in detail." It also said it was "closely" cooperating with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash.
Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest Baku believes the plane was hit mid-air, while the US has said it had "early indications" Russian air defenee may have been responsible for the crash.
The European Union's top diplomat on Saturday called for a "swift, independent" probe into the crash: "I call for a swift, independent international investigation," Kaja Kallas wrote on X, saying that reports that the crash could have been caused by Russian fire were "a stark reminder" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014.