Putin apologizes for Azerbaijan Airlines crash with out saying Russia at fault

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijan for the “tragic” downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft on Christmas Day, however he stopped wanting saying Russia was answerable for the crash.

“Vladimir Putin apologized for the truth that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace and as soon as once more expressed his deep and honest condolences to the households of the victims,” the Kremlin mentioned in a press release on Saturday. The apology got here in a phone name with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, it mentioned.

Putin mentioned the airliner was trying to land in Grozny amid Ukrainian drone assaults within the space.