Kremlin's Full Report On Phone Call Between Putin And Azerbaijanian Counterpart Over Embraer 190 Plane Crash

Moscow: The Kremlin on Saturday admitted to Azerbaijan that Russian missiles were hitting over Grozny airport in response to a Ukrainian drone attack on Wednesday but stopped short of saying that its rockets hit the plane that crashed with 62 onboard. Kremlin  also informed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijanian counterpart Illham Aliyev over the tragic plane crash that killed at least 38 passengers.

Putin's apology has come as many aviation experts are of the view that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash.

Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons still unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea.  

Kremlin's full report on Azerbaijan plane crash 

• Kremlin on Saturday said that President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
• The Russian president apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims.
• The Presidents discussed in detail the issues related to the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane on December 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
• During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft repeatedly tried to land at the airport of the city of Grozny.
• At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled those attacks.
• The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code (violation of the rules of traffic safety and operation of air transport). Initial investigative actions are underway; civilian and military specialists are being interrogated.
• Currently, two employees of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan are in Grozny, where they work together with representatives of the General Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee of Russia.
• The relevant services of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are closely cooperating at the disaster site in the Aktau city area.