Russia reportedly summons Azerbaijani ambassador as bilateral relations continue to sour

Russia reportedly summons Azerbaijani ambassador as bilateral relations continue to sour

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Yesterday, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Rahman Mustafayev met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. While the official statement by Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that they had ‘invited’ Mustafayev, some Azerbaijani media outlets wrote that he had been ‘summoned’.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has not yet commented on the circumstances of the meeting.

Although relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have long been stable, as illustrated by a high-profile visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Baku in August 2024, the crash of a Azerbaijan Airlines flight in December — which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said was Russia’s fault — has caused those bilateral ties to fray.

The official web page of Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that Galuzin had invited Mustafaev to discuss several issues between Azerbaijan and Russia. The Russian side emphasised the ‘absolute importance of building relations between Russia and Azerbaijan in the spirit of strategic partnership and alliance based on the declaration signed at the highest level on 22 February 2022, in the national interests of both states’.

‘In this regard, bewilderment was expressed over a series of recent anti-Russian publications in the Azerbaijani media, as well as in relation to the disinformation campaign against the Russian House in Baku. The absolute groundlessness of the accusations made was noted’, the ministry’s press release said.

The Russian House, known formally as Rossotrudnichestvo, is a state-funded organisation intended to administer foreign aid, promote Russian culture, and support Russians living abroad. As with other Russian government organisations, it was sanctioned by the EU after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Azerbaijan’s Russian House was established in July 1997, and has its headquarters in Baku, with two additional offices located in Khachmaz and Ganja.

On Friday, the pro-government media outlet Baku TV aired a report accusing the Russian House in Baku of engaging in anti-Azerbaijani espionage activities under the guise of cultural and humanitarian work. The report, citing ‘trusted sources’ and without disclosing details, alleged that the Russian cultural centre has been fostering inter-ethnic discord and operating as a hub for intelligence activities.

According to Azerbaijani journalist and political columnist Rauf Mirgadirov, the Russian House has been operating in Azerbaijan for many years and argued that it is no secret the Russian House serves the purposes of Russian intelligence.

Mirgadirov told OC Media that the proliferation of Russian agents of influence in Azerbaijan has long been openly acknowledged by the government and pro-government media.

‘If I am not mistaken, around two years ago, journalists released the names of the journalists and the NGOs who were, at the very least, agents of Russian influence. This was clear many years ago, and now we are enemies with Russia’, Mirgadirov said.

Even as bilateral ties worsen, Mirgadirov said that Aliyev would not let Azerbaijan’s relationship with Russia completely deteriorate.

‘Now, Azerbaijan's relationship is also not good with the EU, but the economic relationship continues. It is not in Aliyev’s favour to also destroy the entire relationship with Russia. Aliyev would only turn away from Russia if Russia lost the [full-scale war with Ukraine], [or] if the government in Russia would be changed’.

The fatal Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in December, which many have said was the fault of Russian air defence missiles in Chechnya, was likely the highest-profile event that has worsened relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has so far not commented on the meeting between Mustafeyav and Galuzin, but the pro-government media outlet APA reported on it, mentioning only that the discussion concerned the plane crash. APA’s brief article highlighted that Russia’s Foreign Ministry had said there is a ‘need to complete the official investigation and publish its results to clarify all the circumstances of the tragedy’.

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Mirgadirov also said that tension between Azerbaijan and Russia will continue for some time.

‘But then there will probably be some high-level discussions, and as a result of these discussions, there will supposedly be some statement about resolving the existing differences. And I would not say that the situation will return to normal, but the level of military action will not reach the point of conflict. This is in the interests of Ilham Aliyev’, Mirgadirov said.

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