(Al Jazeera Media Network) Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” following the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane this week in Kazakhstan.
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 attempting to land. Thirty-eight people were killed.
In a statement on Saturday, the Kremlin said Russian air defence systems were firing near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred 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.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.”
Authorities across Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia are investigating as speculation over what brought down the plane continues to swirl.
Statements by Azerbaijani officials suggest Baku believes the plane was hit midair, while the United States has said it had “early indications” Russian air defence may have been responsible for the crash.
Experts told Al Jazeera this week that Russian air defence officials could possibly have struck the plane after panicking during the Ukrainian drone attack.
They pointed to physical damage to the aircraft among a series of factors raising suspicion around Moscow’s possible involvement.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, on Saturday called for a “swift, independent international investigation” into the crash.
Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, told Putin during their talks on Saturday that the plane “encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control,” the presidency said in a statement.
It added that Aliyev “highlighted that the multiple holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight, and testimonies from surviving flight attendants and passengers confirm evidence of external physical and technical interference.”
The Kremlin said on Saturday that Russia was “closely” co-operating with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the crash.
