According to TASS and Sputnik news agencies, on October 9 local time, Russian President Putin held talks with Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. At the beginning of the meeting, Putin proactively proposed to discuss the aviation disaster that occurred in Azerbaijan Airlines last year.

Putin told Aliyev: "I would like to start with the most sensitive issue of our today's meeting - this aviation tragedy that took place in Russian airspace. I had already apologized for this tragedy during a phone call..." At the beginning of the meeting, Putin again expressed his condolences for this tragic event and extended his sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

On December 25, 2024, a Brazilian Embraer E190 passenger plane operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, while flying from Baku to Grozny. The aircraft carried a total of 67 people, including 62 passengers (mainly Azerbaijani citizens, as well as Russian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz citizens) and five crew members. The accident resulted in 38 fatalities.

Image source: TASS

Putin said in the meeting that one of the important reasons for the air crash was that there were Ukrainian drones in the sky at the time. Putin said that on that day, Russia was tracking three Ukrainian drones crossing the Russian border. The Russian air defense system fired two missiles, which did not directly hit the Azerbaijani flight, but exploded about 10 meters away from the plane. Putin said that the plane was not directly damaged by the missile explosion, but by the missile fragments.

Putin added that the black box recordings showed that the ground department in Russia had suggested the crew to make an emergency landing at the airport in Makhachkala within Russian territory, but the crew decided to return to the departure airport.

Putin also emphasized that Russia will provide all assistance for the accident investigation and take all necessary measures regarding compensation. Putin assured Aliyev: "Of course, as we have previously agreed, we have been providing full assistance for this investigation, and the investigation is now entering its final stage."

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