Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of shooting down a plane that crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people.

The plane, an Embraer 190, was en route from Baku to Grozny when it crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, after being damaged over Russian territory.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, expressed regret for the incident in a phone call with Mr Aliyev, but stopped short of acknowledging Russia’s responsibility.

Mr Aliyev said the airliner was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” Mr Aliyev accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

This comes after an initial Azerbaijani investigation found that the plane was shot down by Russian air defences.