Russian President Vladimir Putin “apologized” on Saturday to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Russian airspace this week, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin acknowledged what officials had alleged shortly after the flight crashed, that Russia “repeatedly” denied the plane permission 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,” Russia claimed.
The Kremlin said that the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal investigation over the incident in which they are questioning civilian and military personnel.
Putin stopped short of taking responsibility for the airline being shot down.
Azerbaijan Airlines said in a statement that the Embraer 190 aircraft crashed on…
