Azerbaijani TV Questions: "Dear Putin, What Happened?" Azerbaijan Begins Arresting "FSB Personnel", Even the "World Food" Company Is Not Exempt

The confrontation between Russia and this republic, which was recently as close as brothers, is now evident

Author: German Galkin

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building of Azerbaijan

Tension between Russia and Azerbaijan is escalating rapidly by the hour. On June 30, Baku authorities conducted an investigation at the office of the "Sputnik" radio station, which is affiliated with the Russian international news agency "Russia Today".

This all began three days ago. Previously, "Free Media" reported that two brothers, Safarov, suspected of committing serious crimes, died unexpectedly during a police raid on their apartment in Yekaterinburg on June 27. The official statement said one of the deceased died of a heart attack, and the initial explanation for the other was similar, after which the police stated that the cause of death is under investigation.

That day, more than 50 Azerbaijanis were arrested in the Ural capital, six of whom are currently detained, while most of those arrested have been released. The Russian Investigative Committee is conducting criminal investigations into crimes that occurred in 2001, 2010, and 2011.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded strongly to the Yekaterinburg incident, issuing an official statement saying: "We expect Russia to immediately investigate this matter and quickly bring the perpetrators of this unforgivable act of violence to justice."

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian chargé d'affaires Peter Volokhovich. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that these arrests were carried out within the framework of a criminal investigation into "serious crimes." However, the Azerbaijani authorities clearly did not accept this explanation.

Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation members refused to attend the 23rd Russia-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee meeting in Moscow.

The Azerbaijani government decided to cancel all planned joint activities (including cultural events) with Russia as a protest against the actions of the Russian police in Yekaterinburg.

On June 29, Azerbaijani Television (AzTv) asked in its Sunday program: "Dear Putin, what happened? Are you really so worried that Azerbaijan has become a strong regional country, that it has recovered territory rather than ceded territory for the first time in 200 years, that it has defended its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, protected its national interests, and that the international stage sees President Aliyev as a strong leader, and that Azerbaijan's position is principled?"

The situation is still developing. On June 30, the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry took some kind of "action" against the "Sputnik" radio station office in Baku. According to APA news agency, two "Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) staff members" were arrested while working under false identities.

The editor-in-chief of the "Russia Today" international news agency, Margarita Simonyan, said that Russian embassy staff in Baku had visited the "Azerbaijani Sputnik" radio station office, while the editorial staff could not be contacted.

Russian officials have not yet made a strong response to Baku. A federal television journalist said that Azerbaijani President Aliyev will fully intervene in the matter.

Meanwhile, the "Baza" media published footage of the arrest of Russian citizens in the "Azerbaijani Sputnik" editorial office. The magazine "Minval" revealed that the arrested individuals were the executive director Igor Kartavikh and the editor-in-chief Yevgeny Belousov of the Baku branch, whom Azerbaijani media called "FSB agents".

In response, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Azerbaijani Ambassador Rakhman Mustafayev.

Russian society expressed anger on social networks, openly criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities and all Azerbaijanis. Russian media now began to report on the "unfriendly behavior" of this "friendly country".

A former senior official from Yekaterinburg, who spoke with "Free Media" journalists, commented on the mass arrest of Azerbaijanis by the police on June 27: "I think this was a signal to Aliyev. Has everyone kept silent for a quarter of a century? Their influence is very strong in all institutions."

It is worth recalling that in the spring of 2023, a young Azerbaijani student was killed at the Chelyabinsk College. In November of the same year, the suspect accused of this murder was unexpectedly released, and the criminal investigation was terminated. The killing was not denied, but the investigators concluded that the man was defending himself with a knife against an aggressive student who provoked the conflict.

In December 2024, a more serious event occurred over Grozny. An Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines departed from Baku but was shot at, eventually making an emergency landing in Aktau, Kazakhstan. The accident resulted in dozens of deaths, with only 29 out of 67 passengers surviving.

An hour before that, the North Caucasus region, including Chechnya, was attacked by drones. Bullet holes were found on the plane wreckage, and some experts believe this is typical damage caused by anti-aircraft weapons.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev immediately stated that the plane was hit by ground fire and blamed Russia, demanding that Russia admit its mistake, punish the responsible parties, and pay compensation.

To date, both sides hold opposing positions: Azerbaijan insists that Russia is responsible, while the Russian authorities deny these allegations. The investigation results will be known by the end of this year.

The first tense incident this year was in February when the Russian scientific and cultural center - "Russia House" - in Baku suspended its operations due to requirements from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After that, Russian State Duma member Nikolai Valuyev called on the Russian authorities to pay attention to the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia. Naturally, the Azerbaijani authorities responded by banning Valuyev from entering the country.

In May, Azerbaijani parliament member Azir Badamov was not allowed to enter Russia due to "anti-Russian statements." On May 9, President Ilham Aliyev did not go to Moscow to attend the 80th anniversary celebration of the Great Patriotic War.

It should be noted that the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Ural region has long been split into two factions, which led to fierce conflicts and a series of serious criminal incidents.

However, the firm measures taken by the Yekaterinburg police in the mass arrest operation on June 27 clearly accelerated the rise in tension between the two countries. Now, after all this, it is not clear how to restore normal relations between the two countries, and it can be certain that both sides will have supporters who advocate for increased pressure on the other.

Some politicians have already predicted that the relationship between Russia and the Central Asian republics will deteriorate because of Azerbaijan.

At the time of writing this article, it was reported that the Azerbaijani Food Safety Agency (APBA) found pathogenic bacteria in a batch of onion rings imported from Russia. The 639 kg product was produced by the "World Food - West" company and imported into Azerbaijan by the "World Food" company.

Dangerous microorganisms were found in the product samples during laboratory research, and the relevant departments decided to destroy the entire batch of products.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7521963621917491775/

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