President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told the Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, in a phone call, “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday, 28 December 2024 apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan for the Kazakhstan plane crash of the AZAL airliner that occurred in Russia's airspace and conveyed his condolences to the families of the plane crash victims.