Azerbaijani MP deported from Russia

Azerbaijani MP Azer Badamov was detained at an airport in Moscow on Sunday and deported back to Baku in a move the Azerbaijani foreign ministry has called ‘unfriendly’.

According to the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet APA, Badamov flew to Moscow from Baku as part of a delegation intending to visit Astrakhan to commemorate the birth of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. The events were organised by the Absheron District Executive Power in Azerbaijan, and were at the invitation of Russia.

Upon reaching Moscow, Badamov was detained at the airport and not allowed to board a connecting flight to Astrakhan. At this point, he was reportedly informed that he was banned from entering Russia and was deported back to Baku.

While no explanation was given for his entry ban, APA has posited that he was blacklisted due to Azerbaijan’s own banning of Russian MP Nikolai Valuev, who was declared persona non grata in February after accusing Baku of using the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia to conduct criminal activities. The statements came after the closure of Baku’s Russian House earlier that same month.

Valuev was the third Russian MP, all from the ruling United Russia Party, to be banned in recent months.

Responding to a question by APA regarding Badamov’s deportation on Sunday, the press secretary of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, Aykhan Hajizadeh, confirmed the incident, noting that the ministry had immediately contacted their Russian counterpart through the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, having received no prior warning or information ahead of time. He added that an official from Russia’s foreign ministry stated the issue would be investigated, but that no explanation was given for their decision to ban Badamov.

‘We consider this decision by the Russian side to be an unfriendly step, and we expect Russia to provide a detailed explanation regarding the issue’, Hajizadeh said.

Azerbaijan–Russia relations have become increasingly complicated since the fatal Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash in Kazakhstan in December. Shortly after the crash, Baku accused Russian air defence of striking the plane as it approached its initial destination of Grozny, and then of subsequently obfuscating its role in the incident.

On 2 May, the head of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s commission on countering hybrid threats, Ramid Namazov, accused the Russian APT29 group of being behind the February cyberattack on Azerbaijani media.

‘The activities of APT29, which is engaged in cyber espionage, are mainly directed against government agencies, foreign diplomatic missions, as well as political, defense, energy, media and other critical areas’, Namazov said.

He suggested the attack was retaliation for the closure of the Russian House, similar to Valuev’s statements, as well as the possible closure of Russian state-run media outlet Sputnik in Azerbaijan.

Russian MP declared ‘persona non grata’ by Azerbaijan as relations continue to deteriorate

Nikolai Valuev was banned from entering Azerbaijan after making ‘offensive statements’ about the country.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova