Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijan's leader for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. Putin stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters that Russian air defences mistakenly shot it down.

Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, but the Kremlin did not take responsibility for downing the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.

The White House said Friday there were "early indications" that Russian air defenses downed an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan.

U.S. and Azerbaijani officials have said weapons fire may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner that crashed on Wednesday, killing 38 people

An Azerbaijan Airlines statement on Dec. 27 blamed “interference” for the Christmas Day plane crash that killed 38 people.

Azerbaijan on Sunday paid tribute to the pilots and passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people after Russian air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.