Russia’s failure to let the plane land and its refusal to take responsibility for the crash are upsetting a key partner.

Azerbaijan enacted a national day of mourning on Thursday following a plane crash that killed 38 passengers and left 29 survivors. The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 flight left Baku, Azerbaijan,

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.

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's president accused Russia of trying to cover up its role in a plane crash that killed 38 people. Preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the crash indicated that a missile from a Russian air-defense system hit the aircraft.

"We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia," President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised statement