President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told the Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, in a phone call, “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crash on Christmas but did not take responsibility for causing it as an investigation continues into the matter.

An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing at least 38 who were on board, according to a Kazakh official.