Russia's leader apologises for the downing of an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace - without directly taking blame.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crash on Christmas but did not take responsibility for causing it as an investigation continues into the matter.

Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, but the Kremlin did not take responsibility for downing the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.

The Kremlin has said that the Russian president "apologized for the tragic incident" and expressed his "deep and sincere condolences" to the victims' families.

Azerbaijan Airlines suspended more than half of its Russian schedule over safety concerns after a plane headed to Grozny this week was reportedly damaged by Russian air-defense systems before crashing as it attempted to land in Kazakhstan.

An Azerbaijani minister suggested Friday that an airliner that crashed this week was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor testimony indicating that the plane was struck from the outside.

An Azerbaijan MP has blamed Russia for shooting down the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, describing the situation as "impossible to deny." The plane crash, which killed 38 people, was first reported on December 25,

Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.