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

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

The Kremlin has said that Putin "apologized for the tragic incident" and expressed his "deep and sincere condolences" the the victims' families.

Russia's Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan's president for a "tragic incident" which happened in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed after air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.

Vladimir Putin apologises for "tragic" downing of Azerbaijan plane in Russian airspace, without saying Russia was responsible This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia’s air defense systems were active when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight attempted to land in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday.