MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Russia’s air defenses were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijani airliner in December that killed 38 people in his first admission of blame for the crash.

Putin made the statement at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe, where both are attending a summit of the former Soviet nations.

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)

The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on Dec. 25, 2024, while on a flight from Baku to Grozny, the regional capital

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