President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told the Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, in a phone call, “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday issued an apology for the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crash in Kazakhstan that occurred earlier this week, but stopped short of claiming responsibility for it.

Officials say an Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau with Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry now saying that at least 28 people survived the crash, which could mean that over 30 people are likely dead.