Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

The head of Russia's state aviation agency said Friday that the airspace was shut down over the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when an Azerbaijani plane that later crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land.

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<a class="excerpt-read-more" href=" M

Azerbaijan Airlines and other carriers have suspended flights to several destinations in Russia after it emerged that Russian air defenses may have caused the crash of one of the Azeri carrier's Embraer 190s on Dec. 25.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev added that it was unintentional but criticised Moscow for trying to “hush up” the shooting for days.View on euronews

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.

Azerbaijan's president has accused Russia of shooting down a plane that recently crashed under controversial circumstances. The allegation comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with both countries exchanging accusations over security and sovereignty issues.