Briefly

RUSSIA

Putin apologizes over deadly airliner crash

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the "tragic incident" in Russian airspace during a phone talk with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday, referring to a recent Azerbaijani plane crash, the Kremlin said. The Azerbaijani flight repeatedly tried to land at the airport in Grozny, Putin said, adding that at that time, Grozny was experiencing a Ukrainian drone attack and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks. During the phone call, Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, the Azerbaijani president's press service said. Thirty-eight people were killed in the crash.