Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences at the informal CIS summit on Wednesday over the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 30 people.
According to AzerNews, at the informal summit of the CIS near St. Petersburg, Putin reported a tragedy in Aktau, Kazakhstan. He expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and injured on behalf of all attendees.
He also emphasized his hopes for the swift recovery of the injured and expressed confidence that a thorough investigation would be conducted. Putin directed the dispatch of a rescue plane carrying Russian medical personnel and specialized equipment to the crash site. In agreement with the President of Kazakhstan, an aircraft from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, equipped with medical staff and necessary equipment, is en route to Aktau.
On the same day, near Aktau in western Kazakhstan, an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane traveling from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic crashed. The flight, Azerbaijan Airlines J2-8243, was an Embraer 190 aircraft manufactured by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The plane carried 69 passengers, including nationals of Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, of whom 32 were reported to have survived.
Meanwhile, the informal CIS summit is an annual event where leaders of former Soviet states, including Russia, gather before the New Year to engage in informal discussions and address international issues. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who was en route to attend the summit in Russia, learned of the crash while in Russian airspace and immediately returned to his country.
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