Kremlin says will not comment on plane crash until probe completed

Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday it was suspending flights to seven Russian cities after one of its Russia-bound jets veered off course and crashed in western Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

The airline said it was "taking into account the initial results of the investigation into the crash... and taking into account flight safety risks", after reports that investigators had found the plane could have been shot down by a Russian air defense missile.

The Kremlin on Friday declined to comment until a probe had been completed.

"An investigation is underway, and until the conclusions of the investigation, we do not consider we have the right to make any comments and we will not do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.