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 plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

ASTANA — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation on Dec.28, initiated by the Russian side to discuss the investigation into the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near Aktau.