Moscow- President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia's air defences were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people, his first admission of responsibility for the crash in an effort to ease tensions between the neighbours.

Putin said the missiles fired by Russian air defences to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijani Airlines plane flying from Baku as it was preparing to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on December 25, 2024. Ukrainian drones have regularly struck deep inside Russia.

Speaking at a meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan's capital of Dushanbe, where both were attending a summit of the former Soviet nations, Putin pledged to punish those responsible and provide compensation.

Azerbaijani authorities had said the jet was hit accidentally by Russian fire, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan, where it crashed and killed 38 of 67 people aboard.

Days after the crash, Putin apologised to Aliyev for what he called a“tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. Aliyev, meanwhile, criticised Moscow for trying to“hush up” the incident.

The controversy over the crash has roiled the previously warm ties between Moscow and Baku. Their relations were further destabilised by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian city in June and a series of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Aliyev on Thursday, Putin said that the Russian air defences that targeted a Ukrainian drone fired on the Azerbaijani airliner because of a“technical malfunction”, adding that two missiles exploded just 10 metres (33 feet) away from the passenger jet.

“The Russian side will obviously do everything to provide compensation and give legal assessment to all responsible officials' action,” he said.

“Of course, these words related to this tragedy, aimed at supporting - morally supporting - the families do not solve the main problem: We can't bring back to life those who died as a result of the tragedy,” Putin added.

He voiced hope for overcoming the strain between the countries and fully rebuilding the ties.

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