Azerbaijan’s leader on Monday accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors.

"The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation," Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 6.

Azerbaijan's president has confronted Putin over the devastating plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day.

Russia and its four flight information regions (FIRs) to a list of potentially dangerous airspaces for civilian aircraft. According to the agency, the decision aims to "ensure maximum flight safety amid the ongoing full-scale war Russia is waging against Ukraine.

"The ongoing conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the risk of civil aircraft being unintentionally targeted in the airspace of the Russian Federation due to po