Vladimir Putin admitted Saturday Russian air defense was working when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before crashing, while stopping short of claiming responsibility. The Kremlin said Putin apologized to Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic incident” in a phone call,

Russian president Vladimir Putin has apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart over a plane crash in Russian airspace that left dozens dead – but he stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s possible responsibility for the incident despite mounting evidence to the contrary.

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.