The Azerbaijani ambassador has arrived to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a protest to the Azerbaijani ambassador due to unfriendly actions by Baku. They demanded the immediate release of Russian journalists detained in Baku.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated that the recent detention of individuals of Azerbaijani origin (Russian citizens) in Yekaterinburg was carried out by Russian law enforcement in full accordance with the law.

In reference to previous captives video, posted this morning?

Adding:

Azerbaijan Continues Detaining Russian Journalists — 7 More Held at Sputnik Office

Since 11:00 AM, Sputnik’s Azerbaijani outlets have stopped publishing news.

Another 7 individuals have been detained at the Sputnik Azerbaijan office in Baku, according to Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry and Investigative Committee.

The charges include fraud, illegal business activity, and money laundering.

Adding: 

 Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry Respond to Journalist Detentions in Azerbaijan

➡️The Kremlin hopes that Azerbaijan’s “extremely emotional” reaction will be replaced by direct dialogue and clarification of the situation, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

➡️He added that the detention of Sputnik Azerbaijan journalists in Baku is completely inconsistent with established norms and the spirit of bilateral relations.

➡️Russia will seek their release through direct contacts in the near future.

➡️The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that certain forces are trying to sow division between Russia and Azerbaijan.

➡️Moscow continues to convey its principled stance to Baku to neutralize damage to the relationship.

Adding: 

Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan began escalating well before the recent arrests of members of an Azerbaijani-linked ethnic group.

According to analyst Boris Rozhin, Moscow has already launched a series of strikes on Ukrainian oil refineries that processed Azerbaijani crude, marking a direct hit on Baku’s economic interests.

“This latest incident is just a trigger — it doesn’t define the broader trend of deteriorating ties between Russia and Azerbaijan, especially in recent months,” Rozhin stated.

Key Points from Rozhin:

➡️The decline in relations has been evident in multiple areas, including:

- Revealed arms shipments from Azerbaijan to Ukraine

- Political provocations initiated by Baku against Moscow

- Even before the journalist incident, Russian forces began systematically targeting Ukrainian refineries, including Kremenchug, Drogobych and most recently, Odessa

Rozhin suggests that there were likely previous understandings that protected these facilities from Russian strikes, due to their ties to Azerbaijani oil. However, those informal agreements appear to have collapsed, leading to a cascade of missile attacks.

“This is an attack on Azerbaijan’s economic interests. Baku wanted to keep secretly supporting Ukraine militarily while profiting from fuel sales. That fuel business was crucial in helping Ukraine avoid shortages in 2022–2023. So the issue goes far beyond migrant arrests — that’s just a pretext,” Rozhin concluded.