Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Christmas Day.
At least 38 other people were killed when Kazakhstan Airlines Flight J2-8243 crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday local time in fire scenes near the city of Aktau.
The first conclusions of the investigation into the crash of an Azerbaijani plane indicated that the crisis is affecting Russian air defense.
In a rare public apology, the Kremlin issued a statement on Saturday about a phone call which took place between Putin and Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev.
In his statement, Putin did not appear to take responsibility for the downed plane, but apologized for the incident in Russian airspace and blamed Ukraine.
It also appears to have been replaced, with many media outlets reporting that Putin apologized for the “tragic incident,” a word that has since been replaced slightly with the removal of the word “tragic. “
“Vladimir Putin apologised for the fact that the incident happened in Russian airspace, once again offered deep and sincere condolences to the victims’ families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the latest statement read.
“It was noted during the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger airliner was flying according to schedule and repeatedly tried to land at Grozny Airport.
“At that time, Ukrainian unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) attacked Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Russian air defence systems were repelling these attacks.”
He went on to charge that an investigation had led to the opening of a crime case under Russia’s air transport and safety law, with two officials from Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office traveling to Grozny to paint with their Russian counterparts.
“The relevant facilities of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are operating at full capacity at the crash site near the city of Aktau,” they said.
Other information was published regarding another phone call between Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during which the two leaders “exchanged condolences” over the accident.
The pair also discussed the investigation taking place on Kazakhstani soil which would “bring in experts from Russia, Azerbaijan and Brazil” to review flight recorders found at the crash site.
“These works within the borders of Kazakhstan will be carried out objectively and transparently,” the Kremlin said.
It is understood that 29 of the passengers and crew on board survived and were rushed to hospital.
One of the Azerbaijani resources close to Azerbaijan’s investigation into the crash told Reuters that initial effects showed the plane hit through a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. Its communications were crippled by electronic warfare systems as it approached Grozny, the source said.
“No one claims that this was intentional. However, taking into account the proven facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to shooting down the Azerbaijani plane,” the source said.
Azerbaijan marked a day of mourning on Thursday, whilst the United States presented its own assessment of the incident.
An official told CNN if it was shot down by Russia, it was likely attacked by poorly trained units who fired as they were wary of the use of Ukrainian drones.