Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people, the Kremlin reported on Dec. 28. The Kremlin press service released a briefing detailing a call between Putin and Aliyev,

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.

Vladimir Putin has apologised for the Azerbaijan Airlines crash but stopped short of accepting responsibility for what he described as a “tragic incident.”