Putin and Tokayev discussed the situation around the plane crash in Aktau

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with his Kazakh counterpart Kasym-Jomart Tokayev, during which the two leaders discussed the situation around the crash of a passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) in the city of Aktau. This was reported by the Kremlin press service on December 28.

"The heads of state exchanged condolences in connection with the crash on December 25 near the city of Aktau of the airplane of Azerbaijan Airlines, on board of which there were, among others, Russian and Kazakh citizens," the website of the head of state says.

Both sides of the negotiations proceed from the fact that the Kazakh government commission investigating the details of the tragedy will attract experts from Russia, Azerbaijan and Brazil to decipher the discovered flight recorders.

"This work, carried out on the territory of Kazakhstan, will be objective and transparent. <...> The leaders of the two countries will remain in constant contact both on issues related to the investigation of all circumstances of the tragic incident with the Azerbaijani airplane," the Kremlin press service specified.

The pressure of altitude: what led to the crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan

At least 32 people survived the crash, all of whom were in the tail section of the

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Government Commission of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev said that Kazakhstan has attracted 17 international experts to investigate the crash of the AZAL airplane. It is specified that six experts from Azerbaijan, and from the Brazilian manufacturer company (Embraer) two people are involved in the work of the commission.

In addition, Putin also discussed the circumstances of the tragedy with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Following their talks, Russia's Investigative Committee (IC) opened a criminal case under the article on violation of safety rules in the use of air transport after the plane crash in Aktau.

A passenger plane of AZAL Airlines, heading on the route Baku - Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan named the preliminary cause of the crash as outside interference. After the incident, a criminal case was initiated. According to the airline's list, 62 passengers and five crew members were on board. A total of 38 bodies were found at the crash site.

Seven Russians died in the airplane crash, nine Russian citizens survived. Later, a special airplane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry delivered them to Moscow. Of the crew, three people survived. After the crash, AZAL suspended flights from Baku to Grozny and Makhachkala until the investigation is completed. Later the company decided to suspend flights to Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara and Mineralnye Vody from December 28.