MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin stated Thursday that Russia’s air protection have been in charge for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 individuals, his first admission of accountability for the crash in an effort to ease tensions between the neighbors.
Putin stated the missiles fired by Russian air defenses to focus on a Ukrainian drone exploded close to the Azerbaijan Airways airplane flying from Baku because it was making ready to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Dec. 25, 2024. Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck deep inside Russia.
Talking at a gathering with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe, the place each have been attending a summit of the previous Soviet nations, Putin pledged to punish these accountable and supply compensation.
Azerbaijani authorities had stated the Embraer 190 jet was hit by chance by Russian fireplace, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan, the place it crashed and killed 38 of 67 individuals aboard.
Days after the crash, Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he referred to as a “tragic incident” however stopped in need of acknowledging accountability. Aliyev, in the meantime, criticized Moscow for making an attempt to “hush up” the incident.
The controversy over the crash has roiled the beforehand heat ties between Moscow and Baku. Their relations have been additional destabilized by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian metropolis in June and a sequence of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.
Talking to Aliyev on Thursday, Putin stated that Russian air defenses that focused a Ukrainian drone fired on the Azerbaijani airliner due to a “technical malfunction,” including that two missiles exploded simply 10 meters (33 toes) away from the passenger jet.
“The Russian aspect will clearly do every thing to supply compensation and provides authorized evaluation to all accountable officers’ motion,” he stated.
“In fact, these phrases associated to this tragedy, geared toward supporting — morally supporting — the households don’t clear up the principle downside: We won’t deliver again to life those that died on account of the tragedy,” Putin added.
He voiced hope for overcoming the pressure between the nations and absolutely rebuilding the ties.
“I hope that our cooperation not solely shall be restored, however proceed within the spirit of our relationships, the spirit of our alliance,” he stated.
Aliyev, for his half, thanked Putin for investigating the reason for the airplane’s downing.
“I want to thanks for maintaining the state of affairs underneath your private management,” he stated.
The Azerbaijani chief stated that they had an opportunity to debate a “broad and constructive” bilateral agenda, voicing hope that “the messages we’re sending at this time to our societies will meet a constructive response.”
