Aliyev and Putin hold talks in Dushanbe

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Dushanbe.

According to Russian media, Vladimir Putin proposed to begin the meeting by discussing the recent crash of the AZAL passenger aircraft.

The Russian president expressed condolences to the families of the victims and apologized once again that the tragedy occurred in the sky over Russia.

Putin noted that Russia is providing full assistance to the ongoing investigation, as previously agreed between the sides:

“The causes of the AZAL plane crash are partly related to the presence of a Ukrainian drone in the airspace at the time,” Putin said.

He added that “on the day of the tragedy, Russia tracked three Ukrainian drones that had crossed the Russian border. Two air-defense missiles fired by Russian systems did not hit the AZAL aircraft directly but exploded several meters away. The plane was likely damaged by fragments, not by the warheads themselves.”

Earlier, at 15:23, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia met at the Kohi Somon government residence in Dushanbe.

President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Dushanbe on October 9 at the invitation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to attend the CIS Heads of State Council meeting. At Dushanbe International Airport, he was welcomed by the chairman of the National Council (Majlisi Milli) of the Supreme Assembly of Tajikistan Rustam Emomali and other officials.