Russia is in talks with Azerbaijan to find ways to ensure the prompt release and return of Russian citizens currently held in Baku, Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department Alexey Fadeyev said at a briefing. He noted that such a move would represent an important step toward stabilizing relations between the two countries.
Fadeyev recalled that on July 1, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Russia, Rakhman Mustafayev, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where Moscow lodged a formal protest over unfriendly actions of Baku. He stressed that, in Russia’s view, there were no grounds for the measures taken by Azerbaijani law enforcement. Moscow, he added, has secured consular access for embassy staff to visit the detained Russians, is providing them with necessary assistance, and is responding to their requests.
The dispute stems from recent tensions between Moscow and Baku. On June 28, Russia’s Investigative Committee in Sverdlovsk Region announced it had dismantled a group linked to a series of murders committed in Yekaterinburg in the early 2000s, detaining eight suspects. Authorities said one had died of heart failure, and the cause of death of a second was still being determined.
The bodies were sent to Baku, where Azerbaijani authorities claimed forensic tests showed signs of violence, and lodged a protest with Moscow. In response, Azerbaijan canceled planned events with Russian participation and detained several Russian nationals, including journalists Igor Kartavykh and Yevgeny Belousov. The two countries have since exchanged diplomatic protests and summoned each other’s envoys.
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Based on TASS materials