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

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

It comes as the head of Russia's civil aviation agency says the situation in Grozny, the plane's destination, was "very complicated" at the time.

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 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 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.