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Putin apologizes for Azerbaijani passenger plane downing

Putin apologizes for Azerbaijani passenger plane downing

Posted December. 30, 2024 08:07,   

Updated December. 30, 2024 08:07

한국어

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an apology three days after the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, which occurred on Wednesday. However, he did not explicitly acknowledge that the plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems, leading to criticism that it was a half-hearted apology.

"President Putin called Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to express regret over the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace," the Kremlin announced on Saturday. "The passenger plane made several attempts to land at Grozny Airport, but the air defense systems in the area were operational at the time to counter Ukrainian drone attacks.” This statement effectively acknowledged the possibility of a mistaken shootdown by Russia.

However, in the statement, President Putin neither clarified the cause of the incident nor took responsibility for it. There was no mention of compensation for damages or strict punishment for those responsible, leading to Azerbaijan's dissatisfaction with Russia's response.

Azerbaijan's presidential office also announced that the two presidents had a phone conversation but did not directly state that Russia was responsible for the plane crash. However, it said President Putin apologized for the tragic incident caused by external physical and technical impacts on the passenger plane in Russian airspace. This statement is interpreted as indirectly emphasizing that Russian air defenses shot the plane down. "The body of the plane had numerous holes, and passengers and crew were injured by 'foreign objects' that penetrated the cabin," President Aliyev stated. "The plane made an emergency landing thanks to the courage and expertise of the pilots."

President Aliyev was on his way to St. Petersburg, Russia, to attend the annual informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) when he learned of the crash and immediately returned home. "Both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have long tried to build economic ties to the West and shed the Russian colonial legacy — without antagonizing the Kremlin," the New York Times reported. "But the Kremlin's tardy and partial apology could breed resentment in these countries, with long-term potential consequences for Russia's influence in the former Soviet Union, the experts added.”


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