Following Azerbaijan's president calling for Moscow to accept blame for downing an Azerbaijani plane, there is growing public anger toward Russia for its apparent attempts to sidestep responsibility for the incident.

Baku, 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.

Russia pledged to hold those responsible for the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which was targeted by Russian air defenses, Azerbaijan