Putin admits Russian role in 2024 Azerbaijani jet crash, offers redress

Putin tells Azerbaijan’s Aliyev that Russia volition supply ‘compensation’ for the deadly clang caused by its aerial defences.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has told his Azerbaijani counterpart that Moscow volition compensate Azerbaijan for its portion successful accidentally downing an Azerbaijani rider level past year, which had damaged relations betwixt the 2 countries.

The Russian person made the committedness connected Thursday portion gathering with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev successful Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 10 months aft the Azerbaijani Airlines crash that killed 38 of the 67 radical connected committee and strained ties betwixt the neighbours.

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Azerbaijani authorities had said the jet, en way from Baku to the Chechen superior Grozny, connected December 25, 2024, was mistakenly deed by Russian aerial defence fire. The pilots past attempted an exigency landing successful occidental Kazakhstan, but the level crashed adjacent Aktau, crossed the Caspian Sea.

Baku authorities besides accused Moscow of denying the distressed craft support to onshore successful Russian territory, forcing the failed landing effort successful Kazakhstan.

Putin apologised for the “tragic incident” astatine the clip but did not straight instrumentality work connected Russia’s behalf.

On Thursday, however, helium acknowledged Russia’s relation much explicitly, saying Russian aerial defence missiles had detonated respective metres from the level aft Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace.

He said Russia would supply Azerbaijan with due compensation and guarantee an “objective assessment” of the incident.

“Of course, everything that is required successful specified tragic cases volition beryllium done by the Russian broadside connected compensation and a ineligible appraisal of each authoritative things volition beryllium given,” Putin told Aliyev successful their archetypal face-to-face gathering successful a year. “It is our duty, I repetition erstwhile again … to springiness an nonsubjective appraisal of everything that happened and to place the existent causes.”

Aliyev thanked Putin for monitoring the advancement of an probe into the deadly incident. “I would similar to explicit my gratitude erstwhile again for the information that you deemed it indispensable to item this contented astatine our meeting,” Aliyev told the Russian president.

The pitchy clang had contributed to months of strained relations betwixt the 2 erstwhile Soviet Republics.

But connected Thursday, Putin described Baku arsenic a “reliable” state with which Moscow is “constantly moving connected information and defence”.