President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan's leader for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defences were fired against Ukrainian drones.

Russia's leader apologises over the downing of an Azerbaijani plane in Russian airspace - without directly taking blame.

Early indications’ suggest Russia shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, the White House said on Friday.