Kremlin Withholds Comment on Azerbaijani Plane Crash Preliminary Report

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to offer any comment on the preliminary report issued by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport concerning the investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash.

"This is a preliminary report. Of course, our relevant authorities will study it with great attention and due diligence. It is impossible to comment on this topic from the Presidential Administration of Russia; we do not consider it possible," said Peskov, The Caspian Post reports, citing Caliber.az.

To recall, on February 4, the Government Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is investigating the causes of the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, presented a preliminary report on the tragedy that occurred on December 25, 2024, near the city of Aktau.

As a result of the crash, 38 people out of the 67 aboard, including both pilots and one flight attendant, were killed. 29 people were rescued, including two flight attendants.

The commission, in addition to representatives from Kazakhstan, includes experts from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil. The specialists conducted a detailed analysis of the flight data recorders and other technical data, which allowed them to reconstruct the timeline of events leading up to the tragedy.