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Azeri president says apology isn’t enough, in confrontation that shows Moscow’s waning influence over former Soviet territories. Azerbaijan’s president accused Russia of trying to cover up its role in a plane crash that killed 38 people, delivering a harsh condemnation that signaled a reversal of the power dynamics that long saw Moscow hold sway over its former Soviet republics. President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that Azerbaijan had laid out for the Kremlin the necessary conditions to satisfy the country, demanding that Russia take responsibility for causing the crash, provide compensation for the country and victims’ families, and bring those guilty...

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has called on Russia to “admit its guilt” for unintentionally shooting down an Azerbaijani airliner, an incident that killed 38 people and injured 29. - snip- “First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must acknowledge its guilt. Third, those responsible must be punished, brought to criminal responsibility and compensation must be paid to the Azerbaijani state as well as to the injured passengers and crew members. These are our conditions,” he said, adding that the first demand had already been addressed with Putin’s apology. Putin and Aliyev spoke by telephone call again on...

AZERBAIJAN president Ilham Aliyev confirmed the passenger plane that crashed killing 38 people was shot down by Russia. Aliyev made the blistering public statement after a phone call with Vladimir Putin in which the tyrant apologised for the disaster. He confirmed the plane had been jammed by electronic warfare weapons before being shot at by the Russians. Aliyev raged he wanted Russia to accept it was guilty of downing the plane and punish those responsible for fatally damaging the aircraft. Speaking on state TV, he said: "Unfortunately, in the first three days we heard only absurd versions from Russia. "We...