U.S. President Joe Biden said on Dec. 28 that Russian President Vladimir Putin's apology over a deadly Azerbaijan Airline crash appears to acknowledge Moscow's responsibility for the disaster. The plane was flying from Baku to Grozny in Russia's republic of Chechnya when it changed course and crashed in Kazakhstan on Dec.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia on Sunday of firing at an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet before it crashed and of initially trying to cover up the cause of the fatal disaster, demanding that Moscow admit guilt.

Azerbaijani President said Sunday that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday "was damaged from outside on Russian territory."