Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK condemns ‘reckless’ Kremlin after Putin’s apology over Azerbaijan Airlines crash
The UK foreign office has criticised Russia after President Vladimir Putin apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart over a plane crash in Russian airspace that left dozens dead.
Mr Putin said he was sorry “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace” during a call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday.
But Mr Putin stopped short of admitting Russian responsibility for the crash, which killed 38 people.
In response, a spokesperson for the UK foreign, commonwealth and development office demanded a full independent investigation into what happened.
A spokesperson said: “President Putin’s statement fails to recognise that the reckless and irresponsible actions of the Russian state pose an acute and direct threat to the interests and national security of other states.”
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
The US has suggested that Russia could be responsible for the downing of the plane, while sources in Azerbaijan claimed Russian air defence missiles hit the plane.
