The statement is the closest officials have come to confirming mounting suspicions that the plane was downed by a Russian air-defense system.

Azerbaijan on Sunday paid tribute to the pilots and passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people after Russian air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.

Azerbaijan Airlines attributes the crash of its Embraer 190 in Kazakhstan to external interference, prompting cessation of flights to 10 Russian airpo