Azerbaijan’s leader on Monday accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors.

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

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.

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 leader apologises over the downing of an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace - without directly taking blame.

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

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

We demand justice, we demand punishment for those responsible, and we demand full transparency, — said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, regarding the plane crash caused by a Russian missile.

We demand justice, we demand punishment for those responsible, we demand full transparency - said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, regarding the plane crash caused by a Russian missile. He also accused Moscow of attempting to cover up the incident.