Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the president of Azerbaijan for the crash of the civilian airliner that killed 38 people, the Kremlin said Saturday, stopping short of admitting responsibility.

“Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” the Kremlin said.

The airliner had “repeatedly attempted to land” at the Grozny airport, Putin told Ilham Aliyev, which at the time was being “attacked by Ukrainian combat drones.”