Azerbaijan’s leader on Monday accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Russia is behind the Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 of the 67 people aboard. The motives of the incident remain unclear.

A survivor of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, hit by a Russian missile, recalls an explosion near her leg as the plane struggled to land in Grozny before crash landing in Kazakhstan

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev has charged Russia to take responsibility for the Christmas day air crash. Aliyev said Moscow should apologize and accept responsibility for the air mishap. New York Times said Aliyev in an interview charged Russia to provide compensation to the victims’ families.

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

Azerbaijan's president has confronted Putin over the devastating plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day.

"The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation," Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 6.