The Russian Ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan

On July 2, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation (RF) to the Republic of Azerbaijan (AR) Mikhail Evdokimov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to the press service of the foreign policy department of Azerbaijan, during the meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, a protest was expressed to the Russian side regarding unfriendly actions and steps that damage relations between the two countries.

Deep concern was once again expressed regarding the death of two Azerbaijanis and serious injuries to other compatriots as a result of illegal actions during raids conducted by Russian law enforcement agencies on June 27 in the homes of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg. It was noted that the explanations provided by the Russian side contradict the forensic examination findings and obvious signs of violence on the bodies of the deceased. The Azerbaijani side emphasized the inadmissibility of manifestations of ethnic intolerance in Russian media regarding the raids and the use of expressions such as "ethnic criminal group" in relation to Azerbaijanis.

Azerbaijan reiterated that it expects Russia to conduct a comprehensive and objective investigation into the violations of law committed by Russian law enforcement agencies and to punish those responsible. It was noted that attempts to present Azerbaijan's position as interference in Russia's internal affairs are groundless.

The Azerbaijani side also stated that Russia's claims regarding measures taken at the Sputnik Azerbaijan office were unfounded. It was emphasized that actions regarding Sputnik Azerbaijan were carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and investigative activities are currently ongoing.

Special attention was paid to the incident involving an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft shot down in Russian airspace at the end of last year. The Azerbaijani side considers unacceptable the lack of necessary measures after this incident, which has negatively affected relations since that time, as well as attempts to distort the real situation and conduct a disinformation campaign against our country in Russian media through various officials and media representatives.

It was emphasized that our country expects the Russian side to conduct a full and transparent investigation of this disaster, identify and hold accountable those responsible, provide compensation to the victims, and that these steps are of great importance for eliminating the negative atmosphere in bilateral relations.

The meeting also noted that statements and speeches by socio-political representatives and media organizations in Russia against the sovereignty, territorial integrity of our country and the Azerbaijani people over the past 4-5 months are factors that negatively affect bilateral relations.

Thus, the ambassador was informed that the aforementioned actions of the Russian Federation contradict the spirit of friendship and mutual respect between the two countries, cause additional tension and negatively affect bilateral relations.

The Russian side was urged to take appropriate measures to eliminate tension and the negative atmosphere in bilateral relations between our countries.