The U.S. has seen “some early indications” of possible Russian involvement in the Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that killed 38 people, the White House said.American officials “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, while not commenting on the cause of crash, apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that the “tragic incident” that led to the airliner’s downing occurred over Russian territory, Russian news outlet RBC reported on Saturday.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims,” the Kremlin said, according to the report. Kirby said the U.S. has offered its assistance in the investigation of the crash, but he would not comment further.Azerbaijan’s Transport Minister Rashan Nabiyev said on Friday that the witness testimonies and debris point to external interference with the aircraft.The civilian airliner was flying on Wednesday from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic. After passengers reported hearing a blast, the plane diverted hundreds of kilometers from its route and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38. There were 29 survivors.Several media reports, including by Reuters, Russian independent news outlet Meduza, and Azerbaijan’s Caliber news agency, claim the passenger jet was damaged by a Russian air defense missile in an area where Moscow has been targeting Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, said the plane could not land at Grozny airport because of fog and Ukrainian drones. “The situation around Grozny airport at the time was very difficult, with Ukrainian combat drones attacking civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov said in a video statement published by state news agency TASS.He added that the pilot decided to fly to Aktau despite being offered landing at other Russian airports.That version of events significantly differs from the one reported by Azerbaijan’s Caliber media outlet, citing Azerbaijani officials, which said the aircraft was refused permission to land at three nearby Russian airports despite filing an emergency request, and was instead ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea.If it is confirmed that the plane was mistakenly downed by Russia, the incident will echo the Malaysia Airlines disaster of 2014 in which a plane flying over the Donbas region of Ukraine was shot down by a Russian missile, killing all 298 people on board. A Dutch court found two Russian agents and a separatist leader guilty of the crime in absentia.
Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report.
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