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

Russian MP Nikolai Valuev has been declared ‘persona non grata’ by Azerbaijan, as Azerbaijan–Russia relations continue to sour following the AZAL plane crash.

According to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizade, Valuev’s name ‘has been added to the list of people banned from entering Azerbaijan, and his entry has been banned’.

The ban was in response to Valuev's ‘offensive statements’ following the Azerbaijani side's decision to close the Russian House in Baku earlier in February, which has been accused of operating as a hub for intelligence activities.

In recent days, the pro-government Azerbaijani media outlets Qafqazinfo and Konkret have continued to write about the threat of Russian intelligence operatives in the country, and also accused several former Azerbaijani officials of spying for Russia.

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 had its headquarters in Baku, with two additional offices located in Khachmaz and Ganja.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the organisation had been shuttered, but said that he believed it was ‘a misunderstanding that will be resolved through bilateral contacts’.

The announcement of Valuev’s persona non-grata status came after several Russian lawmakers  shared their opinions regarding Azerbaijan’s decision to close Baku’s Russian House.

In a post on Telegram, Valuev criticised ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia and the Kremlin could impose retaliatory moves against the diaspora, which he called ‘their main tools of influence’

He suggested that Russia should ‘run this whole gang through the sieve of the law’, implying that law enforcement would find evidence of ‘illegal migration, tax evasion, corporate raiding, and other interesting things’.

Another Russian lawmaker, Yevgeny Popov, warned there would be ‘tit for tat’ consequences if Azerbaijan closed the Russian House.

In response, Azerbaijani MP Nizami Safarov said that ‘It is more likely that Popov himself will be shut down’. Reporting on Safarov’s comments, the pro-government media outlet Caliber said he had ‘put [Popov] in his place’.

The continuing fallout of the AZAL crash

It was the latest uptick in tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia.

The traditionally smooth relationship between the two countries has tumbled in recent months since the fatal Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crash in Kazakhstan in December. Baku has 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.

Immediately after Kazakhstan disclosed an investigative report about the reason for the crash, the Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet APA published an article saying that Baku had decided to call on Russia to admit its responsibility.

For its own part, Russia emphasised that the report was preliminary in its nature, and claimed it did not reveal the cause of the crash.

APA’s article also wrote that Baku had issued an ultimatum — if Moscow did not accept its responsibility for the crash, which it has so far declined to do, Azerbaijan would refer the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Nonetheless, the source who spoke on behalf of Baku is unknown.

APA also explicitly compared the AZAL plane crash to the infamous MH17 incident, in which Russian-backed forces shot down a passenger jet flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

On 4 February, an anonymous state source told Reuters that ‘the Azerbaijani side possesses a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile which was extracted from the aircraft and identified through international expertise’.

APA’s article concluded by noting that the ‘Azerbaijan side’s facts and evidence are being collected, and preparations are underway to appeal to an international court. However, the door is open for dialogue with Russia. Moscow must openly admit its guilt and take responsibility. Otherwise, Baku is ready for further steps’.

Nonetheless, besides the anonymous sources and articles in Azerbaijani pro-government media, Baku has not officially said it was planning to elevate the dispute to the ICJ.

The independent media outlet Turan also reported that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s official plane had also been subject to external interference on the same day of the AZAL jet incident. Prior to its eventual crash in Kazakhstan, the AZAL jet had reportedly had its radar and communications jammed as it approached its intended destination, the Chechen capital Grozny.

But after several hours, Turan deleted the news, and apologised to its readers, saying the original article was biassed and false.

The Azerbaijani pro-government media outlet Caliber quickly reacted to Turan’s article and subsequent retractions, saying they ‘urged readers to rely not on the messages of ‘sensationalist’ enthusiasts, but on official statements from Baku’.

‘This is also because, when it comes to the readiness and ability to defend Azerbaijan’s national interests, the country’s leadership sets an example that is unattainable for those who, mistakenly or deliberately, try to escalate the situation by disseminating fake news’, Caliber wrote.

It is unclear if Caliber’s refutation of Turan’s reporting was an attempt to help lighten the tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan, or if it was yet another attempt for pro-government media to try to discredit independent outlets in the country.

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