Putin says Russian air defenses were to blame for Azerbaijani jet's crash last year, killing 38

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MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia’s air defense were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people, his first public admission of responsibility for the crash in an effort to ease tensions between the neighbors.

Putin said the missiles fired by Russian air defenses to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijan Airlines plane flying from Baku as it was preparing to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Dec. 25, 2024. Ukrainian drones have regularly struck deep inside Russia.

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

Azerbaijani authorities had said the Embraer 190 jet was hit accidentally by Russian fire, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan, where it crashed and killed 38 of 67 people aboard.

Days after the crash, Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. Aliyev, meanwhile, criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the incident.

The controversy over the crash has roiled the previously warm ties between Moscow and Baku. Their relations were further destabilized by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian city in June and a series of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Aliyev on Thursday, Putin said that Russian air defenses that targeted a Ukrainian drone fired on the Azerbaijani airliner because of a “technical malfunction,” adding that two missiles exploded just 10 meters (33 feet) away from the passenger jet.

“The Russian side will obviously do everything to provide compensation and give legal assessment to all responsible officials' action,” he said.

“Of course, these words related to this tragedy, aimed at supporting — morally supporting — the families do not solve the main problem: We can't bring back to life those who died as a result of the tragedy,” Putin added.

Aliyev, for his part, thanked Putin for investigating the cause of the plane's downing.

“I would like to thank you for keeping the situation under your personal control,” he said.

Relations with Baku have become increasingly important for the Kremlin since it sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, especially as Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey has become a key economic partner for Russia as it faced sweeping Western sanctions.

Azerbaijan is a key transport corridor for Russia’s trade with Iran and other partners in the Middle East. The energy-rich Caspian Sea nation also has bought oil and natural gas from Russia to meet internal demand while exporting its own hydrocarbons to the West.

Russia, in turn, has been the main market for Azerbaijan’s fruit and vegetable exports and also is home to a sizable Azerbaijani diaspora. A 2021 census listed about a half-million ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Russia, but unofficial estimates put the number as high as 2 million.

All those ties have suffered as tensions over the jet's crash have surged. Both leaders on Thursday signaled their desire to turn the page and ease the strain.

“I hope that our cooperation not only will be restored, but continue in the spirit of our relations, the spirit of our alliance,” Putin said.

Aliyev responded that they had a chance to discuss a “broad and positive” bilateral agenda, voicing hope that “the messages we are sending today to our societies will meet a positive response.”

As part of his state visit to Tajikistan, Putin also sought to bolster relations with the Central Asian nation that neighbors Afghanistan and hosts a Russian military base.

Speaking at the start of his talks with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon, who has been in power for nearly 33 years, surpassing Putin's own quarter-century rule, the Russian leader praised the close military and security ties between Moscow and Dushanbe and noted that over 1 million Tajik citizens were working in Russia.

Later on Thursday, Putin held a summit with Rakhmon and the leaders of the four other Central Asian nations to discuss expanding trade and other contacts.

“Russia firmly intends to further strengthen its strategic partnership and alliance with your countries, and deepen mutually beneficial political, economic, and humanitarian ties,” Putin said.