Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Russia is behind the Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 of the 67 people aboard. The motives of the incident remain unclear.

Russia’s failure to let the plane land and its refusal to take responsibility for the crash are upsetting a key partner.

Azerbaijani President said Sunday that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday "was damaged from outside on Russian territory."

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he was “upset and surprised” that Russian officials put forward murky causes instead of promptly taking responsibility.

The Embraer 190 was traveling to Grozny, Russia, but crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people onboard. Investigators are focusing on Russian air defense as the likely cause.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight traveling from Baku to Grozny crashed in Kazakhstan with nearly 70 passengers onboard on December 25. Two dozen survivors are in a critical condition, according to reports.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday demanded that Russia admit that it fired at an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet before it crashed, accusing Moscow of initially trying to cover up the cause of the fatal disaster.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

Authorities in Azerbaijan said Monday that Russian law enforcement officials promised to punish those responsible for the downing of an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane last week. The AZAL Embraer 190 jet crashed in western Kazakhstan on Wednesday,

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has demanded Moscow to take accountability and apologize for the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet last week.