If Turan Leaves…

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. As such, the Kazakh-produced report has avoided, at least initially, provoking the ire of either Russia or Azerbaijan.

The pro-government press in Azerbaijan has unique and, at their true worth, underappreciated qualities.

While sorting through the archives on the eve of the 20th of January, I came across a folder with photos given to me by my late colleague Farhad Kerimov.

On January 7, during a press conference between President I. Aliyev and local TV channels, a representative of Real TV asked: “Do you see Trump in the same boat with us...?”