Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized on Saturday that a “tragic incident occurred in Russia’s airspace,” the Kremlin said, acknowledging a role in the crash of a plane carrying 67 people, but stopping short of an expression of responsibility.

Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, but the Kremlin did not take responsibility for downing the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.