Authorities in Kazakhstan are investigating the cause of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the country, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others on Christmas Day.The big picture: Flight J2-8243 was diverted while en route from Baku,

Following Azerbaijan's president calling for Moscow to accept blame for downing an Azerbaijani plane, there is growing public anger toward Russia for its apparent attempts to sidestep responsibility for the incident.

The National Resistance Center (NRC) has obtained a letter from Turpal Ilyasov, the representative of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in Russia's Ural Federal District, containing instructions on how to comment on the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the “tragic incident,” which left 38 people dead, though he stopped short of taking responsibility.

The leader of Azerbaijan criticized the Russian response to the crash of a passenger jet that Azerbaijani officials said had most likely been hit by Russian air defenses.

"Those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility, and compensation must be paid," President Ilham Aliyev said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says Russia shot down one of his country's passenger planes "by accident" last week.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev says Vladimir Putin’s apology isn’t enough, in a confrontation that shows Moscow’s waning influence over former Soviet territories.

Azerbaijan plane hit by shooting from Russia before crash, country’s president says - The UK has called for an independent investigation into the downing of an Azerbaijani plane thought to have been c