Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijan for the “tragic” downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane on Christmas Day, but he stopped short of saying Russia was responsible for the crash.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. The apology came in a telephone call with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, it said.
Putin said the airliner was attempting to land in Grozny amid Ukrainian drone attacks in the area.