Putin did admit that Russian air defences were at work when the passenger plane tried to land in Grozny before crashing, and the Kremlin said Putin apologised to Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev over the "tragic incident" in a phone call, but did not say Russian air defence shot the plane.

Putin “offered his apologies” for the crash in a phone call to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin initiated the phone call, according to the statement, and told Aliyev “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

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

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev over the tragic plane crash that killed nearly 38. In an official statement on Saturday, the Kremlin said its air defense systems were firing near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike,

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.

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