Russian air defences responsible for shooting down Azerbaijani plane, says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia’s air defences were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people, his first admission of responsibility for the crash in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the neighbours.

Mr Putin said the missiles fired by Russian air defences to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijani Airlines plane flying from Baku as it was preparing to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on December 25 2024.

Ukrainian drones have regularly struck deep inside Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev shake hands prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Russia-Central Asia summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Speaking at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, where both arrived to attend a summit of the former Soviet nations, Mr Putin pledged to punish those responsible and provide compensation for the victims.

Azerbaijani authorities said the jet was accidentally hit by fire from Russian air defences, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan, where it crashed and killed 38 of 67 people aboard.

Days after the crash, Mr Putin apologised to Mr Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility.

Mr Aliyev, meanwhile, criticised Moscow for trying to “hush up” the incident.

The controversy over the crash has rocked the previously warm ties between Moscow and Baku.

Their relations were further destabilised by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian city in June and a series of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.