In a critical development, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a second call in two days to Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev to discuss the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet. Following Aliyev's strong statement accusing Russia of obscuring the true cause of the crash on the Baku to Grozny flight, Putin urgently called Aliyev. As reported by the Azerbaijani president's press service, the Kremlin initiated the conversation. The discussion reportedly focused on the ongoing …

Moscow does not support proposals from President-elect Donald Trump's team aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. In a conversation with Russian media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized plans to delay Ukraine's NATO membership and to station a peacekeeping force from the EU and Britain on Ukrainian territory.

"We are certainly not satisfied with proposals from team members representing the president-elect suggesting postponing Ukrainian NATO membership for 20 years and …

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has voiced his frustration over Russia's alleged attempts to cover up the downing of a civilian aircraft near Grozny, as reported by Trend.

Aliyev is demanding apologies and compensation from Russia, stating that the Russian side pushed theories involving an oxygen tank explosion on board and bird strikes to divert attention from the incident.

According to Azerbaijan, the aircraft, which crashed in Aktau, was hit from the ground near Grozny and was also …