ToplineRussia accidentally downed an Azerbaijan Airlines flight on Christmas Day and then attempted to cover it up, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed Sunday, though the cause of the deadly crash in Russian air space—killing 38 people—is still unknown.

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. “We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has demanded a full admission of responsibility from Russia for causing the recent Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan and has called for those responsible to be punished.