Putin, in a telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan, apologized for the “incident” with the plane

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, apologized due to the fact that the “tragic incident” (the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane) occurred in Russian airspace and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

“In the conversation, it was noted that an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was following a strictly scheduled schedule, repeatedly tried to land at the airport in Grozny. At this time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” – the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin also reported that the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under an article on violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport (Article 263 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Russian authorities claim that “civilian and military specialists are being interrogated.”

It is noted that the conversation took place at the initiative of the Russian side.