By Darya Tarasova and Catherine Nicholls, CNN
Emergency workers are seen at the crash site of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan. Photo: Azamat Sarsenbayev / Reuters
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has apologised for the fact that an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed after entering Russian airspace in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday, but did not say that Russia was responsible.
Putin said on Saturday (local time) that Russia's air defence systems were active when the plane attempted to land in Grozny, according to the Kremlin. Unable to reach the airport, the aircraft diverted east, eventually crashing near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people on board.
It is unconfirmed what was behind the incident, but a US official told CNN on Thursday that early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet. In his comments, Putin did not say that Russian air defenses hit the plane.
Putin "apologised for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace" in a phone call with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin said that the plane "repeatedly attempted to land at the airport in Grozny" but at the same time, the areas of "Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks".
Russia's investigative committee has opened a criminal case in relation to the disaster, the statement said.
In a statement on Friday, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian media has "lied about the cause of the crash", adding that Moscow "forced the damaged jet to cross the sea, most likely in an attempt to conceal evidence of their crime".
- CNN