Kazakhstan’s Aktau Port will begin dredging works in June 2025 to address the ongoing decline in Caspian Sea levels, Report Information Agency said This information was revealed earlier this week by Abay Turikpenbayev Chairman of the Board of Aktau International Sea Trade Port during the Caspian and Central Asia Oil Trade and Transport Forum in Baku The official said that they plan to achieve a depth of 7.7 meters at the Port ensuring stable operation for the next 3-4 years Should the Caspian level continue to decrease we will initiate the second and third stages of dredging,” Turikpenbayev said he revealed that all the documentation for the dredging program was prepared last year Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Azerbaijani government sources have exclusively confirmed to Euronews on Thursday that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau on Wednesday the missile was fired at Flight 8432 during drone air activity above Grozny and the shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight Government sources have told Euronews that the damaged aircraft was not allowed to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan the plane’s GPS navigation systems were jammed throughout the flight path above the sea The missile was fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system Baku-based international outlet AnewZ reported at the time the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was passing over the territory of Chechnya Russian air defence forces were actively attempting to shoot down Ukrainian UAVs The head of the Security Council of the Chechen Republic confirmed that a drone attack on Grozny took place on Wednesday morning noting that there were no casualties or damage this would be the second time in a decade that Russian forces have destroyed a commercial aircraft after the MH17 crash in Ukraine as well as those from neighbouring countries The crash also evokes an earlier incident from November 2018 when an Air Astana Embraer 190 lost its hydraulics over Portugal but Further investigation into Wednesday's crash is expected to unveil the circumstances surrounding the missile's firing the non-authorisation for landing at a nearby airport in Russia and the instruction to cross the sea with a damaged plane The International SAMBO Federation (FIAS) is a non-governmental non-profit organization that unites National SAMBO Federations FIAS is the only internationally recognized organization responsible for the development of SAMBO worldwide The FIAS website regularly features SAMBO news as well as SAMBO videos and photos from SAMBO competitions It also includes the official competition calendar of the International SAMBO Federation and other documents regulating tournaments in Sport SAMBO Here we are to serve you with news right now quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis you can have full digital access to all news Proces du 13-November : ce que ces hommes opaques ont dans la tete Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit Blanditiis optio incidunt eum omnis ratione error temporibus iure porro esse Integer consectetur quam eget ipsum dictum accumsan Donec non lectus id risus rutrum ullamcorper sit amet vel nulla Dozens of people were killed after an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau AirportLONDON -- At least 38 people are dead and 29 others injured after an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft crashed near Kazakhstan's Aktau Airport close to the Caspian Sea on Wednesday morning a spokesperson for Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations told ABC News The aircraft was flying from Baku in Azerbaijan to Grozny in Russia the Transport Ministry said in a post to its official Telegram channel It was rerouted to Aktau in Kazakhstan due to fog in Grozny Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations told ABC News that the plane was carrying 69 people -- 64 passengers and five crew members The ministry said 29 people survived the crash Kazakhstan's deputy health minister told ABC News that some of those taken to hospital are in critical condition "The list of dead and injured is being finalized," the Ministry of Emergency Situations wrote earlier Wednesday in a Telegram post Preliminary reports suggest that the crash may have been caused by a bird strike leading to engine failure which necessitated an emergency landing attempt the spokesperson for the Ministry of Emergency Situations said officials announced that a criminal case had been initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan regarding the facts of the crash the investigation process is ongoing in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office of Kazakhstan All versions are being explored in the criminal case," Farid Huseynov Among the passengers were 37 Azerbaijani citizens the Transport Ministry said in a statement "The investigation team is being provided with the necessary assistance by the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan at the scene of the incident," Maj Kazakhstan minister of emergency situations "We are closely monitoring the situation and we remain fully committed to supporting the relevant authorities." and 10 canine units were deployed to the crash site Canine teams are involved in the search operations Kazakhstan and Russia are collaborating to determine the exact cause of the crash Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev canceled his planned attendance of Wednesday's Commonwealth of Independent States meeting in St according to a readout of a phone call between Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin published by the former's office "The heads of state expressed condolences to each other to the family members and loved ones of those killed in the plane crash and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded," the readout said Putin told attendees he had dispatched a team from Russia's own Emergencies Ministry to Aktau "with medical personnel and the necessary additional equipment on board." Ayesha Ali and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report At the Kazakhstan-China roundtable held in Astana on July 2 several agreements were signed by Kazakhstan’s national railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and Chinese partners to expand Kazakhstan-China cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and Lianyungang Port Group agreed on joint investment in the construction of a container hub at the port of Aktau on Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast The project aims to improve both the effectiveness of the port’s existing infrastructure and the processing of container cargoes shipped through Kazakhstan and Slavtrans-Service JSC (Russia) agreed to create a unified digital corridor on the China-Kazakhstan-Russia route to provide a seamless system for processing customs clearance it will significantly accelerate logistics promote the development of electronic trade increase the transparency and efficiency of supply chains An agreement was also signed with China’s CRRC for the supply of 200 locomotives to Kazakhstan Built with improved structural and traction parameters the locomotives will be adapted to withstand Kazakhstan’s  climate and to emit low levels of harmful substances into the atmosphere You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed The preliminary report into the late December crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet in Kazakhstan is a masterwork in delicate diplomacy breaking no new ground in assigning responsibility for the tragedy yet appearing to confirm that the plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defenses without explicitly saying so provoking the ire of either Russia or Azerbaijan Kazakh officials released the report February 4 stating the 53-parge document “does not purport to assign blame or responsibility to anyone” for the incident in which an Azerbaijani flight bound for Grozny in Chechnya is widely believed to have been hit by anti-aircraft fire before making a crash landing near the Kazakh city of Aktau killing 38 of the 67 individuals aboard.  The report goes on to confirm various facts that have already been reported hydraulic operating systems and GPS apparatus were in sound working order before take-off It also notes the plane was not overloaded Kazakh investigators firmly establish that the damage done to the plane originated “from the outside by foreign metal objects,” thus dismissing the possibility of a bird strike or an internal explosion caused by a gas canister The damage caused the pilots to lose control over most operating systems while the plane’s GPS systems were reportedly jammed by ground-based air defenses The report contains photos of the plane’s tail section and fuselage speckled with “holes of various sizes and shapes,” but does not provide any information on what caused the perforations.  Several apparently foreign metal objects have been recovered from the jet and are reportedly still undergoing analysis shows damage that is consistent with that caused by anti-aircraft shrapnel Around the time of the accidental shoot-down came under a Ukrainian drone attack.  The Azerbaijani plane began experiencing difficulties in Chechen airspace after being hit by the “foreign metal objects” at 5:13 am on December 25 while the order to close airspace to civilian traffic wasn’t issued until eight minutes later the radar capabilities of Russian air defenses and the relatively slow speed that drones tend to fly at the lag-time in issuing the closure of airspace order is potentially an indicator of negligence or another shortcoming at some point in the Russian system The crash has strained Azerbaijan’s relations with Russia: Baku has demanded that the Kremlin admit responsibility and pay reparations to the relatives of those killed. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has so far declined to do so Meanwhile, Russian officials have tried to put as positive a spin as possible on the report, with a statement issued by the Russian Federal Transport Agency on Telegram highlighting that it “doesn’t contain conclusions about the causes of the incident.” The statement also tacitly airs a complaint that Russian investigators were not given access to the metal fragments found in the plane’s fuselage.  state-controlled Russian media let loose a massive disinformation dump regurgitating discredited alternative theories for the crash The final report is due to be completed in early 2026 Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all On January 6, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with the families of the crew members who perished in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 passenger plane which went down while operating the Baku-Grozny flight as well as with the surviving flight attendants the AZAL passenger plane flying from Baku to Grozny lost control near Grozny due to external interference the plane managed to make an emergency landing in the city of Aktau The Azerbaijani state highly valued the actions of the pilots and all crew members following the farewell ceremony for the crew three members — two pilots and a flight attendant — were awarded the title of ‘National Hero,’ while two other flight attendants received the ‘Rashadat’ (‘Courage’) First-Class Order Without the professionalism and heroism of the pilots there would have been no survivors from this tragedy,” Aliyev stated the preliminary investigation into the criminal case initiated by the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor’s Office once again confirms the version presented by Azerbaijani authorities: we will provide the Azerbaijani public with full information I want to highlight one detail I mentioned on December 29: in the city of Grozny Operation ‘Kover,’ [Carpet] meaning the closure of airspace was announced only after the plane was fired upon from the ground This further demonstrates the presence of very serious issues with criminal elements involved when there is a threat in a country’s airspace This procedure is followed in every country it is referred to as Operation ‘Kover.'” “If there was a threat to Russian airspace the captain of the plane should have been immediately informed The airspace should have been closed without delay I must also point out that about 10 days before this tragic crash a similar incident occurred near the city of Grozny An AZAL plane turned back halfway through its journey I want to emphasize that the information we have is based on the truth.” Attempts by Russian state institutions to cover up this incident and insist on absurd explanations provoke our astonishment it was only due to the heroism of the pilots and crew members that about 30 people survived this tragedy I must also note that the majority of those who perished in the crash were Azerbaijani citizens Russian and Kazakh citizens also lost their lives while citizens of Kyrgyzstan were injured.” Aliyev emphasized that the pilots likely knew they would not survive the crash: and it was thanks to their professionalism that they somehow managed to bring the out-of-control plane to the landing site and make an emergency landing The other crew members — the flight attendants — also displayed remarkable composure They showed great courage in preventing chaos on the plane They likely did not even hope to emerge from this situation unscathed and bravery in such a moment once again highlight their outstanding qualities especially considering that two of the flight attendants were women.” Ilham Aliyev addressed the examination of the plane’s “black boxes” recovered from the crash site: “The process of decoding the black boxes has begun As I mentioned in a television interview on December 29 we categorically opposed the Interstate Aviation Committee handling the decoding of the black boxes because objectivity in this matter could have been called into question there could have been a conflict of interest with the participation of representatives from Azerbaijan the analysis of the black boxes has started in Brazil and we expect information on this to be available soon all unresolved questions will be clarified It is clear as day that the plane was rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare measures It is also evident that the aircraft was damaged by ground fire Was this decision made by local air traffic controllers or did the pilots themselves realize that electronic warfare in Russian airspace would no longer allow them to land and chose this option on their own Had timely measures been taken to close Russian airspace near Grozny had all ground service regulations been followed and had proper coordination existed between the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and civilian services I am not ready to disclose all materials from the criminal case yet I can confidently state that responsibility for the deaths of Azerbaijani citizens in this tragedy lies with representatives of the Russian Federation we demand accountability for those responsible and we demand complete transparency and humane conduct The fact that the black boxes were sent to Brazil underscores our insistence on objectivity As I mentioned during the farewell ceremony for the crew if we had seen an effort by Russian officials from the very first minutes or hours to investigate this tragedy objectively we likely would have agreed to the Interstate Aviation Committee decoding the black boxes We have worked with this organization for decades and cooperated actively It has essentially been the main body investigating aviation accidents in the former USSR when we saw attempts to cover up the incident blaming it on birds or a gas cylinder explosion doubts about the objectivity of this organization’s investigation arose both for me and the Azerbaijani public Now that the decoding of the black boxes is underway I am confident that we will soon learn the preliminary results The full picture of what happened in this tragedy will become clear This will undoubtedly be a crucial step toward a thorough investigation of this tragedy and holding those responsible accountable,” emphasized the Azerbaijani leader The Aktau crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 aircraft was a tragic event with significant international repercussions This devastating accident not only claimed lives but also raised critical questions about aviation safety and the handling of sensitive investigations This decision reflected both technical and diplomatic considerations marking a crucial moment in the unfolding investigation Kazakhstan adhered to established industry procedures for aviation safety investigations Such a step highlights the country’s commitment to transparency and global norms in aviation The move is typical of the country’s foreign policy under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev whose long diplomatic experience leads him to emphasize a rules-based approach over political considerations and to act in accord with established procedural norms This choice ensured that the investigation would follow established international practices thereby lending credibility to the process and reassuring global aviation stakeholders This behavior is also in line with Kazakhstan’s broader commitment to international law and a rules-based global order. Another notable example of this approach was its endorsement of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity through its refusal to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea or the independence of the Donbas regions These decisions were not necessarily easy ones given Kazakhstan’s economic and security ties with Russia but they reinforced its commitment to global standards While some observers might frame decisions like the Aktau recorder transfer as a “snub” to Russia such characterizations would miss the point Like Kazakhstan’s refusal to recognize Donbas as independent and its efforts to prevent the flow of military components in violation of Western sanctions its actions are not meant to be about rejecting one partner in favor of another Kazakhstan seeks to “do the right thing,” because this maintains a consistent international profile with a steady foreign-policy course grounded in international law and practice These efforts are in line with Kazakhstan’s larger foreign-policy strategy to act as a principled and impartial intermediary on the global stage fostering dialogue and reducing hostilities Kazakhstan’s leadership in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) reflects its dedication to multilateralism and peaceful conflict resolution Kazakhstan exemplifies the rising middle-power archetype also through its significant contributions to global nuclear non-proliferation. Its foreign policy operates on a multi-vector approach managing relationships with global powers like Russia and the West while mitigating over-reliance on any single actor A middle power is defined by its ability to exert substantial regional influence while contributing to global diplomacy through a combination of economic strength These states often act as mediators and bridge-builders in global conflicts leveraging multilateral frameworks to balance relationships among larger powers Kazakhstan’s participation in organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Organization of Turkic States complements its strategic engagement with the European Union and the United States These actions demonstrate its ability to maintain balanced and constructive relationships across divergent international arenas The country’s adherence to international norms is part of its attempt to maintain a geopolitical equilibrium in its own foreign relations By positioning itself as a bridge between competing spheres of influence Kazakhstan seeks to promote dialogue and cooperation without alienating any major power given the country’s sensitive yet central geographic location The decision about the flight recorder in Aktau is part of a broader strategy to maintain sovereignty and reinforce its image as a nation committed to peace and procedural integrity Kazakhstan’s domestic reform agenda is equally critical to sustaining its middle-power status the government has introduced sweeping political and social reforms aimed at modernizing governance By enhancing the rule of law and promoting economic diversification The successful implementation of these reforms is vital for Kazakhstan’s ability to maintain regional leadership and expand its international influence Kazakhstan’s response to the Aktau crash and its broader foreign and domestic policies testify to a deliberate and nuanced strategy to solidify its position as a middle power The country shows a pragmatic commitment to balancing geopolitical pressures through prioritizing transparency This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page There is an unknown connection issue between Cloudflare and the origin web server Image: Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan has announced that a preliminary report on the investigation into the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft near Aktau will be published in the coming days an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by AZAL crashed approximately three kilometers from Aktau airport while attempting an emergency landing en route from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny was carrying 62 passengers and five crew members Thirty-eight people were killed in the crash Footage from the crash site shows significant damage to the fuselage with some reports suggesting a pattern consistent with air defense missile fragment impacts The aircraft had initially requested permission to land at Grozny airport before abruptly changing course toward Aktau Among the possible causes under investigation are a missile strike and electronic system malfunctions due to radio signal suppression in Grozny linked to Russian efforts to repel Ukrainian drone attacks the possibility of a bird strike was also mooted Kazakhstan is leading the investigation under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention as the crash occurred within its territory along with international aviation experts and representatives from Embraer “The specialists need time to complete their work and we will not provide comments until the preliminary report is published I promise that the report will be released in the coming days,” Karabayev said at a press conference in Astana on Tuesday Brazil’s Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents (CENIPA) we will publish a preliminary report on our website,” the minister stated Karabayev specified that the report will be made available on the website of the Civil Aviation Committee which operates under the Ministry of Transport The Brazilian CENIPA has completed its analysis of the aircraft’s black boxes and the decoded data has been sent to Kazakh authorities and those published in the final crash report are the sole responsibility of Kazakhstan’s investigative body,” CENIPA stated a preliminary report should be issued within 30 days of an incident expressed hope that the initial findings would be released by the end of the month “Specialists need time to complete the work It is a very complex and meticulous process,” Karabayev reiterated in response to questions about the delay As The Times of Central Asia previously reported the plane crash has contributed to tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia The head of Russia’s state aviation agency said Friday that the airspace was shut down over the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus when an Azerbaijani plane that later crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people onboard crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau on Wednesday killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in the Kazakhstani city of Aktau killing 38 people and leaving all 29 survivors injured Dramatic pictures showed survivors walking away from the crashed plane One of the victims of a deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan was buried on Friday was one of 38 people killed when Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was diverted for reasons still unclear on Wednesday and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan This image from video released by Kazakhstan Emergency Ministry Press Service on Friday shows the crash landing of the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 on the ground near the airport of Aktau (Kazakhstan Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP) In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region a part of Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP) In this photo released by Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry Press Service a rescuer search at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 laying on the ground near the airport of Aktau (Kazakhstan’s Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP) The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in St Petersburg Vagif Mamishev lays flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in St in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan’s airport of Aktau Wounded passengers of the Azerbaijani Airline’s plane crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau are transported from a medical plane at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku Cadets of the aviation school lay flowers in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan’s airport of Aktau at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku Workers carry a coffin with a body of a victim from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku This photo provided by the administration of the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan shows a group of surviving passengers of the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 prior to departure to Baku at the airport of Aktau (Administration of the Mangystau Region via AP) This image from video released by the administration of the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan shows the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 on the ground near the airport of Aktau Kirby told reporters on Friday that the U.S “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” but refused to elaborate has intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash Kirby characterized the short answer as “yes” but said he’d “leave it at that,” without providing further details Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” as does witness testimony “The type of weapon used in the impact will be determined during the probe,” Nabiyev said Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny Flight attendant Aydan Rahimli said that after one noise She said that she went to perform first aid on a colleague Asadov said that the noises sounded like something hitting the plane from outside he sustained a sudden injury like a “deep wound the arm was lacerated as if someone hit me in the arm with an ax,” he added He denied a claim from Kazakh officials that an oxygen canister exploded inside the plane Two other survivors recounted hearing explosions before the plane went down: Jerova Salihat told Azerbaijani television in an interview in the hospital that “something exploded” near her leg and Vafa Shabanova said that “there were two explosions in the sky and an hour and a half later the plane crashed to the ground.” head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan He didn’t comment on statements from some aviation experts who pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny and other areas in the Russian North Caucasus Azerbaijan Airlines blamed the crash on unspecified “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the claims that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash and we don’t believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the probe of Wednesday’s crash the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala Azerbaijan Airlines announced Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities Those cities also have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air also announced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month FlyDubai also halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russian for the next few days Israel’s El Al carrier suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.” The airline said it would reassess the situation next week Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Washington and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Saturday discussed the investigation of this week’s plane crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight near a Caspian Kazakh city Tokayev told Putin that a government commission is investigating the crash with experts from Azerbaijan Both leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining transparency in the investigation the flight from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic crashed near Aktau While Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan launched investigations Azerbaijani officials attributed the crash to a Russian missile system The crash occurred amid Russian air defense activity against Ukrainian drones and GPS jamming was detected in the region Authorities of all interested countries have urged people to wait for official findings before drawing conclusions Putin earlier on Saturday extended condolences to Azerbaijan’s president and apologized mentioning how Russian air defense systems were actively responding to a Ukrainian drone attack when the plane tried to land in Grozny before the crash Kazakhstan’s national railways company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), has announced that KTZ Express (a subsidiary of KTZ) and Kazakhstan’s Aktau Sea Trade Port have signed the founding documents of a joint venture to construct a container hub in the port of Aktau The documents were signed on September 20 in the Chinese city of Xi’an The Lianyungang Port is a longstanding partner of KTZ Express they have implemented two joint projects: the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in the Port of Lianyungang and Khorgos Gateway the largest dry port in Central Asia located on the Kazakh-Chinese border a container train departed along the TITR from Xi’an on the route Altynkol—Aktau (Kazakhstan)—Baku (Azerbaijan)—Poti (Georgia)—Burgas (Bulgaria)—Belgrade (Serbia)—Hamburg/Duisburg/Budapest The heads of the railway administrations of China and Georgia attended the departure ceremony was assembled at the Kazakh-Chinese Xi’an terminal It will travel about 7,000 km to Baku in 8-11 days and then reach its final destination in Budapest in 25 days The reduced delivery time was made possible by the cooperation of the railway and port administrations of the TITR member countries The Kazakh-Chinese terminal in the dry port of Xi’an was opened in early 2024 30% of all container trains from China to Europe via Kazakhstan are formed in the dry port cargo transit along the TITR increased 20-fold in the first eight months of this year compared to last year The delivery time to Azerbaijan has been reduced to 11 days and to Georgia to 14 days The coastline of the Caspian Sea near Aktau’s 1st micro-district and the village of Akshukur has turned an unusual red hue, sparking concern among local residents sharing photos and videos while speculating about possible causes the change in water color is a seasonal phenomenon linked to a mass bloom of diatom algae which can be triggered by sudden temperature fluctuations He added that this process does not pose a threat to the region’s ecology or marine life the Department of Ecology of the Mangistau Region has initiated water sampling to analyze chemical and oil product content “The research will help confirm that the changes in water coloration are caused by natural processes,” the department stated promising to release the test results soon Algae blooms in the Caspian Sea are a recurring phenomenon Earlier this year, residents of Kazakhstan witnessed another unusual sight when “ice flowers” formed on the Kapshagai Reservoir in the Almaty region resembling snow-white petals with pointed edges appear under specific weather conditions on a thin layer of ice Deputy General Director for Aviation and Space Insurance at the company “Full payment for the aircraft was made in February,” Kabachnyk stated noting that a significant portion of the risk was reinsured by the Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNPC) While the exact amount of compensation has not been disclosed industry experts estimate it to be between $25 million and $30 million Compensation payments to passengers began in January and are ongoing These payments are being made in accordance with the Montreal Convention of 1999 and Russia’s Compulsory Insurance of Civil Liability of Carriers (OSGOP) law which provides for compensation of up to 2 million RUB (approximately $22,000) for injury or loss of life Regarding potential claims for damage to third parties Kabachnyk said no such claims have been received so far we will work with the airline accordingly,” he added According to Reuters, citing an unnamed source the aircraft was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S missile Azerbaijani authorities have supported this claim stating that they have recovered fragments of the missile In early February, Kazakhstan published a preliminary report on the crash, which described external damage to the aircraft.  KazakhstanChevron Matjaz Corel/AlamySave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links Nothing is more instructive than being wrong, and there’s no quicker way to be wrong than to have expectations. My arrival to Aktau, in Kazakhstan's Mangystau region spent with long-haul truckers drinking duty-free whisky I had plenty of time to imagine what awaited me on shore: a port city that was rough there was something alluring about the place from the get-go “We won’t stay long,” said a Dutch couple I met in town and had many places to be; they’d spent a day in Aktau I knew it was possible to find something new and was growing every day; the outskirts of the city were a construction zone edging the desert with camels grazing in the unfinished alleys Finding something interesting is only ever a matter of being invested between the Caspian and the Ustyurt desert there's a sense of enterprising self-rule that stretches along the Caspian Sea is a big draw for locals families and lovers descend to the Caspian Sea promenade to eat icecream and hotdogs and enjoy the rides of the mid-city fun fair and a local rock music scene fed by a love of the Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival The owner of Mang’o Hostel and filled it with all manner of instruments: a Kazakh dombra He also presented a spread of shashlik (roasted meats) and Kazakh whisky (I’d refused the vodka) The generosity was commonplace: in Kazakhstan the tradition of konakkade demands that guests are well-fed and watered as the custom also stipulates that a host may demand music from a guest We spent a long night trading blues and country songs until the Russian Empire established a mining outpost here in the late 1950s The nomadic Kazakh tribes used the land as a winter pasture—the name Mangystau comes from a Turkic phrase meaning “1,000 tribes in the wintering place.” I saw the land with the last of the winter green; the camels and cattle still held the fat of the cooler months I have written that one descends toward the Caspian into greater Mangystau and the expanse of the Ustyurt desert Most of Mangystau is a loner’s playground: empty There are various local social-media based tour companies that take visitors on one or multi-day trips into greater Mangystau The travelers I met on these tours were Russians many of whom lived in self-exile in Kazakhstan who were themselves discovering this distant part of the country: visitors from Almaty and Astana who were eager to visit the underground mosques and canyonlands of the Ustyurt desert stumbling through with feeble Russian (the online translator reigns supreme) I felt I was at once on the edge of something and right in the middle of it This was travel stripped of its guardrails guided only by human patience and kindness I took a Mangystau Safari tour to visit the Valley of the Castles a sweeping glen that is the Travelling Wilburys of natural rocky sites—one member from all the iconic sites: a segment like Cappadocia Bozzyhra is an extraordinary natural monument dominated by towering limestone formations We sat together and ate tea and plov in a meadow dotted with white flowers Their name—snezhnik—means “under the snow,” as that is where they sprout opening with the snow melt and returning the land to white Lepota,” one of the Russians on my tour said It was from Ivan Vasilivich’s film Minyet Professio “It’s an old-fashioned word for beautiful,” he said traveling some 150 miles in the other direction a deep canyon dominated by the hard rock inselbergs that have withstood five million years of erosion It is a landscape more of vision than observation; the canvas is too grand No sound can fill a landscape of that size; everything that is said gets swallowed by the chasm with not even the faintest bounce of an echo The monuments that mark the basin—variously named for ships and yurts—are as grand and tremendous as America’s famous Monument Valley; they are giant stalagmites on the earth formed by the mineral-drip of some unseen cave-roof too high to see and these monuments were the roots of tiny islands but the wilds of Mangystau remain inimitably deep There was yet more to see—wild horses and noodle-nosed saiga antelope coves of turquoise water filled with shipwrecks and sea snakes Across the cover was written “Mangystau Passport;” each page backdropped with a local wonder He’d designed the tract as a future gift for the tourists he hopes will one day find his part of the world Kazakhstan’s national carrier, Air Astana has four direct flights between Aktau and London weekly Aktau grows so quickly that even Google Maps can’t keep up Locals use an online map called “2giz” to find their way around; addresses come in a two-digit rubric of micro-district and building number and a giant aquarium filled with beluga sturgeon (doubles go for $155 USD per night) Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips A Guide to Korčula, Croatia Why Everyone Will Be Going to Osaka in 2025 A London Local’s Melting-Pot Itinerary for Food This New Eco-Cruise Through the Galápagos Takes Passengers On a Safari at Sea up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse We understand that time is the greatest luxury which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world An Azerbaijani aircraft that crashed near Aktau Kazakhstan had lost its control systems before it entered the country's airspace Kazakh authorities provided a detailed briefing in the Caspian Sea city on how the incident unfolded with Transport Minister Marat Karabayev sharing the timeline of the crash involving an Embraer 190 aircraft his country's officials received the first signal at 10.43 a.m Kazakh time (0543GMT) from Russia’s Rostov air traffic control center The signal indicated that the crew had decided to divert to Aktau due to adverse weather conditions in Baku and the city of Makhachkala in the Dagestan region the Rostov flight director informed Aktau’s flight manager that an oxygen tank in the passenger cabin had exploded passengers had lost consciousness and medical intervention was requested upon landing,” he said Emergency teams were promptly mobilized at Aktau Airport the pilots contacted Aktau Airport’s air traffic control tower.” “The air traffic controller facilitated all necessary procedures to guide the plane to the runway turning on runway lights to assist with visual contact,” Karabayev stated Karabayev said that the crew made two attempts to land on the runway contact with the crew was lost and the plane hit the ground Investigations at the crash site are ongoing in cooperation with Azerbaijani authorities Aktau Regional Transport Prosecutor Abilaybek Ordabayev stated including statements from survivors and witnesses Ordabayev noted that the crash site of 4,000 square meters (over 43,055 square feet) had been cordoned off for safety while confirming that both black boxes of the aircraft had been recovered The identities of nine of the 38 victims have been confirmed so far The flight was traveling from Baku to the city of Grozny in the Russian Republic of Chechnya but veered off course over the Caspian Sea before the crashed 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau with 67 people onboard Kazakh officials had previously said 38 people were killed in the crash senior Azerbaijani officials had confirmed to Anadolu that the crash was caused by a Russian missile system maintained that it was likely due to a bird strike that forced the aircraft to divert to Aktau Kazakh authorities and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev called for restraint in speculation noting that bad weather may have played a role in the flight's diversion The crash occurred amid heightened activity of Russian air defenses targeting Ukrainian drones in the region Public flight data shows GPS jamming in the area Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that conclusions must await the official investigation At least 38 people were killed when an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said during a news conference in Aktau that 38 people died and 29 were rescued According to a statement by AZAL on Telegram 62 passengers and five crew members were on board the Embraer 190 aircraft which crashed about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau as it was heading from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in the Russian Republic of Chechnya The carrier later suspended flights between Baku and Grozny as well as those between Baku and the city of Makhachkala the capital city of the neighboring Russian republic of Dagestan Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Ministry said in a statement that 52 of its personnel and 11 units of equipment were dispatched to the crash site It later said that 150 personnel and 45 units of equipment from Kazakhstan's emergency services were involved in search and rescue efforts a spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's Office previously said at a news briefing in Baku that there were 32 survivors who cut short a visit to the Russian city of St announced in a meeting with government officials that a commission had been formed to investigate the reasons behind the crash "The reasons for the crash are not yet known to us but I believe it is premature to discuss them The matter must be thoroughly investigated," Aliyev was quoted as saying in a statement by the Azerbaijani presidency Aliyev went on to issue a decree declaring Dec Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also ordered an investigation into the crash led by Bozumbayev and dispatched medical teams from the capital Astana to assist survivors AZAL told Azerbaijan's state news agency Azertac and Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency that preliminary findings pointed to a collision with birds as the cause of the crash Russian media said the plane was unable to land in Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone attack The pilot redirected the flight to the city of Makhachkala but was deterred by fog the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said on Telegram that the plane was reportedly shot down by a Russian air defense system "Russia was supposed to close the airspace over Grozny but did not do so The plane was damaged by the Russians and sent to Kazakhstan instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny and saving people's lives," he added although other aviation experts aren't so sure Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said information he had seen suggested the plane changed course because of bad weather but insisted the crash must be fully investigated "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people," he said That would track with Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation head Andriy Kovalenko's assertion that the flight was "shot down by a Russian air defense system." Ukrainian drone strikes in the area also recently shut down the closest airport said speculating about the cause of the crash would be wrong and that we should wait on the results of the investigation has said that "the nature of these damages and the causes of the disaster are currently unknown." A commission has been formed with representatives from Kazakhstan saying that "even the preliminary cause cannot be determined yet as specialists are needed for that." However