Putin apologizes to Azerbaijani leader for ‘tragic incident’ involving crashed plane

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

The plane was flying on Wednesday from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.

In an official statement Saturday, the Kremlin said air defense systems were firing near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane.

According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon.

Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack.

Neither Kirby or the Azerbaijani minister directly addressed the statements blaming air defenses.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

 

Trump plans to name himself chair of Kennedy Center, fire board members

The president announced Friday that he would remove multiple board members, including the Chairman, who do not share his vision for a "Golden Age in Arts and Culture."

Musk’s team takes control of key systems at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the latest target of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump says he is revoking Biden’s security clearances

Former presidents are historically given intelligence briefings after leaving office. But Trump said he was following precedent set by Biden four years ago, when Biden revoked Trump's access.

What’s Trump’s beef with South Africa?

Trump has accused South Africa of "human rights violations" and a land grab. The South African government has hit back.

Trump administration pauses $3 billion marked for electric vehicle charging stations

The Federal Highway Administration said the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is under review. It was part of the Biden administration's clean energy push.

Judge pauses Trump order to put USAID employees on administrative leave

The case, brought by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees was intended to block the administration's efforts to dismantle USAID.

More Front Page Coverage