Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan without claiming responsibility in plane crash

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

Moscow had earlier said that Grozny, where the plane was due to land but instead crashed in western Kazakhstan, was attacked by Ukrainian drones that day. .

Moscow said Putin had told Aliyev the plane had tried to land in Grozny "several times." "During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defense was repelling these attacks," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript.

It added that: "Vladimir Putin had presented his apologies that the tragic incident happened in Russia's air space and again expressed his deep and genuine condolences to the families of the dead, wishing a quick recovery to those affected."

A statement from Aliyev's office on the phone call appeared to show no doubt that the plane was hit over Russia. "President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control," Baku's presidency said.

Aliyev's office said Baku wanted an investigation "ensuring those responsible are held accountable."

Putin also called his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and said Moscow was committed to taking part in an "objective and transparent" investigation into the crash.  A series of airlines have this week been cancelling flights to Russia after the incident, including flydubai and Israel's El Al. The vast majority of Western airlines have stopped flights to Russia since Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive.