Russia has arrested a man in Moscow wanted by Azerbaijan on terrorism charges, Russian state media has reported.
Russian and Azerbaijani media have not revealed the identity of the suspect, his nationality, or his time of arrest.
Citing court documents, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti wrote on Tuesday that the man was wanted by Azerbaijan for conducting exercises for the purpose of terrorism, organising a criminal community, and creating armed groups.
RIA Novosti added that Russian law enforcement received information about the suspect through ‘urgent communication channels containing a request for his detention’.
While court materials reviewed by RIA Novosti do not indicate the man’s nationality, they state that he is not a Russian national.
According to Azerbaijani state news agency Azertac, Baku intends to request the man’s extradition to Azerbaijan.
In a separate case, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Monday that they arrested an Azerbaijani individual in the Stavropol region, accusing him of planning a terrorist attack on behalf of a ‘Ukrainian terrorist organisation banned in [Russia]’. It is unclear if the two cases are linked.
Azerbaijani media outlets have covered the arrest in Stavropol, but have not commented on the veracity of the FSB’s claims, which OC Media has also not corroborated.
Russia’s security services often arrest both foreigners and Russian nationals on terrorism charges. In recent years, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has often accused alleged terrorists of acting on behalf of Kyiv, typically without much evidence.
Both arrests come at a low point in Azerbaijan’s ties to Russia, fueled by the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight in December 2024, which Baku has blamed on Russian air defence, as well as the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis during a Russian police raid in Yekaterinburg in June 2025.
Nate Ostiller
