Biden 'Apprised' Of Plane Crash, Offers Help Should Azerbaijan Need It, White House Says

The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden 'has been and will continue to be' apprised of the situation around Azerbaijani passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan, and is "kept up to date on what's going on," TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

Biden "wanted to make sure that our team — and we did this, both through our diplomats, but also through some NSC officials — made very clear to the Azerbaijani government that we stand ready and willing to help them, should they need it with their investigation," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on a call.

"But again, I don't want to get ahead of where we are. It's actively being investigated," Kirby added.

The spokesperson also confirmed the U.S assessment of "some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems," as he put it.  

"That said there is an ongoing investigation right now —  Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are conducting this jointly. We have offered our assistance to that investigation should they need it, should they want it. We're gonna respect that process," Kirby concluded.