Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the “tragic incident,” which left 38 people dead, though he stopped short of taking responsibility.

The leader of Azerbaijan criticized the Russian response to the crash of a passenger jet that Azerbaijani officials said had most likely been hit by Russian air defenses.

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.

"We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia," President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised statement

Authorities in Kazakhstan are investigating the cause of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the country, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others on Christmas Day.The big picture: Flight J2-8243 was diverted while en route from Baku,

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says Russia shot down one of his country's passenger planes "by accident" last week.

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.

Azerbaijan's president has accused Russia of shooting down a plane that recently crashed under controversial circumstances. The allegation comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with both countries exchanging accusations over security and sovereignty issues.