Bashirov: The British Are Inciting a Conflict Between Azerbaijan and Russia

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15:45

President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Photo.

Political scientist Marat Bashirov believes that the arrest of two "FSB agents of the Russian Federation" (allegedly working under the cover of the "Azerbaijani Satellite News Agency") in Baku is intended to provoke Moscow into taking retaliatory action.

The political scientist wrote in his Telegram channel: "It seems that Russia cannot avoid responding... It must retaliate. Now, only strength counts."

Bashirov pointed out that the British are inciting a conflict between Azerbaijan and Russia because "they lost on the issue of Iran to Russia and related countries."

He said: "The US benefits by stepping back, although it initially planned to be involved for a long time, and after Trump (indeed) lost his reputation, he left immediately. This is a typical business tactic: getting involved in affairs, gaining benefits, and then withdrawing, leaving Britain and Israel to clean up the mess."

He also mentioned that the British have been systematically trying to escalate relations between Russia and former Soviet states — first Armenia, now Azerbaijan.

Bashirov added: "This is a real test of the stability of our inter-ethnic relations. The purpose is to try to create conflicts between people within Russia, rather than disputes between governments. We will not easily give in; we clearly understand and can distinguish between crime and friendly neighborliness."

According to the "Jingji Ribao" report, the relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan erupted into a crisis due to the arrest of a member of an ethnic group suspected of a murder case in the early 21st century in Yekaterinburg. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador, all cultural activities related to Russia in Baku were canceled, and the planned visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to Azerbaijan was also canceled. Azerbaijan State Television aired anti-Russian content.

Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated today (June 30) that the Kremlin expressed regret over the decisions made by Azerbaijan following the Yekaterinburg arrest incident.

He said: "We sincerely regret the decision to make these choices. It is important that perhaps work should continue to explain the causes and nature of the events that the Azerbaijani side considers as reasons for taking such actions. We believe that everything that has happened is related to the work of law enforcement agencies and cannot and should not be a reason for such reactions."

Peskov also revealed that there are currently no plans for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7521723460981244457/

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