The extremely rare publicised apology from Putin was the closest Moscow has come to accepting some blame for the disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. Putin's apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a

Meanwhile, Ukraine had stuck to claiming Russia’s involvement and said, “Russia must be held responsible for the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane

Russia's Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. He stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday offered his apologies to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev that the incident with the AZAL airliner occurred in Russia’s airspace and conveyed his...

Vladimir Putin admitted Saturday Russian air defence was working when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before crashing, breaking the Kremlin's silence as speculation mounted Russia may have accidentally shot the plane. Despite not taking direct responsibility for the incident, “the fact that he (Putin) is in some way reacting ... shows that he wants to show that he is visible and present and concerned with trying to give reassurances”, FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert said in an analysis, as he cited several airlines that had suspended flights to Russia following the plane crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. Putin's apology came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya. An official Kremlin statement issued Saturday said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny airport as the airliner “repeatedly” attempted to land there on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to Azerbaijan's President for the fact that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Russian airspace, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Dozens of passengers were…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident" following a plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

Putin says Russian air defence was working when the Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny in Russia's southern Chechnya region.

However, the Kremlin statement did not say Russia had shot down the Azerbaijani Airlines plane, only noting that a criminal case had been opened.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.