Kazakhstan–Russia border

Senior Azerbaijani officials on Thursday confirmed to Anadolu the validity of earlier media reports suggesting that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday was caused by a Russian missile system.

In a major milestone, the first train carrying goods from Turkey to China reached its destination on Dec. 19, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister said.

"Announcing Turkey's power in logistics to the world from every city it passed through, the China Export Train is our victory in rail transport," Adil Karaismailoğlu wrote on Twitter.

Five countries bordering the energy-rich Caspian Sea met on Aug. 12 at an economic forum hosted by Turkmenistan in a bid to agree on how to divide the region's oil wealth.

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Monday, in the beginning of a high-level conference to mark the adoption of the new EU Strategy for Central Asia - Connectivity for sustainable development, that the countries in that region have undergone important changes and new opportunities are opening up for them.

The third meeting of the Consultative Council on the project South Gas Corridor will start in Baku on Thursday.

Representatives of the European Commission, Georgia, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy and Greece will discuss the prospects for transporting 10 billion cubic metres of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to Europe.