President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told the Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, in a phone call, “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday, 28 December 2024 apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan for the Kazakhstan plane crash of the AZAL airliner that occurred in Russia's airspace and conveyed his condolences to the families of the plane crash victims.

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 caught fire as it tried to make an emergency landing in Aktau, southwestern Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. It was traveling from the Azeri capital Baku to Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.