The main topic of the first meeting in a long time between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia in Dushanbe was the investigation into the tragic crash of the Azerbaijani airline AZAL near Aktau.

After ten months of silence, Vladimir Putin told Ilham Aliyev in a private conversation that two Russian air defense missiles exploded just meters from the plane. He blamed Ukrainian drones for the tragedy.

"The two missiles that were fired did not directly hit the plane... but exploded a few meters away, somewhere around 10 meters. On the day of the tragedy, Russian air defense forces repelled an attack by three Ukrainian drones that had crossed the Russian border," Putin said.

He promised that a legal assessment of the officials' actions would be conducted and compensation would be paid.

Relations between Moscow and Baku worsened last year after the downing of an Azerbaijani passenger plane, for which President Ilham Aliyev blamed Russia. It was discovered that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system near Grozny.

The plane crash, which occurred on December 25, 2024, near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, killed 38 of the 67 people on board. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced his intention to file an international lawsuit against Russia. He emphasized that Moscow has not admitted guilt or punished those responsible for the deaths.