Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, expressed deep condolences on behalf of all Russia regarding the deaths in the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft flying from Baku to Grozny, and acknowledged Russia's responsibility for this disaster, Sergey Markov, Director of the Center for Political Studies, told Report's Russian bureau.
According to him, the phone conversation between the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan will be followed by a detailed investigation of all circumstances of the air crash.
"According to the rules, 30 days are allocated for preparing a preliminary report, and up to 12 months for a full report. However, the decision on compensation to AZAL airline for the loss of the aircraft, and more importantly, to the families of the deceased passengers and pilots will be made in the near future. As I have already said, Russian authorities do not intend to evade or hide facts. If the investigation confirms the fault of Russian authorities, Russia will acknowledge its responsibility," said Markov.
The CEO of the Caspian Institute for Strategic Studies, Igor Korotchenko, in his comment to the Russian bureau of Report, noted that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Russia demonstrated political wisdom.
"Following the telephone conversation, the presidents agreed on jointly providing necessary assistance in conducting the investigation and, I believe, showed political wisdom by doing everything to ensure that the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace with an Azerbaijani airliner did not affect interstate and partnership relations between Moscow and Baku," he noted.
Korotchenko emphasized that Aliyev and Putin have a direct channel of communication and the ability to make quick, operational decisions on the most complex issues: "We believe that further work will help establish all circumstances of the tragedy and, accordingly, make the necessary legal and juridical conclusions."