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.

The AZAL passenger plane went down in Kazakhstan due to external interference. They were received when the plane was in Russian airspace, states Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev noted that the passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines,

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