The killing of two Azerbaijani nationals by Russian security forces this week has deteriorated the already cooling ties between Baku and Moscow.
Ambassador summoned
On June 28, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Pyotr Volokhvikh over the deadly raids by Russian security forces against five Azerbaijani nationals in Yekaterinburg. The Foreign Ministry said as a result of the raid on June 27 in apartments inhabited by Azerbaijanis, two people were killed, several people were seriously injured, and nine were arrested. "Our expectation that the issue will be investigated and all perpetrators of violence will be brought to the attention of the other side as soon as possible has been brought to their attention," the Foreign Ministry stressed.
Commenting on the issue, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova said on Saturday that the detentions in Yekaterinburg were carried out as part of a criminal investigation, adding that the suspects were Russian citizens. However, she did not comment on the deaths.
The victims were identified as brothers Ziyeddin and Huseyn Safarov, both around 60 years old, who were killed during a raid by Russian Federal Security Service, FSB, in their home on June 27, at around 5 a.m, according to Russian and Azerbaijani media reports. Eight other people were beaten to varying degrees at the same address. Huseyn Safarov is said to be an Azerbaijani citizen, while Ziyeddin Safarov is a Russian citizen. Safarovs’ brother, Sayfaddin Huseynli, told Azerbaijani ITV channel that the men were tortured to death “without any trial or investigation, despite their innocence.” Huseynli added that others were beaten and subjected to electric shocks.
According to information provided by people of Azerbaijani origin living in Yekaterinburg, the industrial city in Ural Mountains, the operation was carried out in connection with a murder committed in the Safarovs' cafe in 2001.
Russian cultural events cancelled
In response to the deaths of two Azerbaijanis, Baku on Sunday cancelled two cultural events planned by Russia. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture and Sports wrote on X social media platform that all cultural events planned by Russian state and private institutions were cancelled due to the “demonstrative targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence committed by Russian law enforcement agencies against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds in Yekaterinburg.”
Cooling of ties
The relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have been in a downward spiral since Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane bound to Russia’s Chechnya crashed in December, killing 38 of 67 people aboard. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia of unintentionally shooting down the plane and rendering it uncontrollable by electronic warfare. Aliyev said the Kremlin was seeking to “hush up” the incident. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for the incident but stopped short of claiming responsibility for it.
Another tension in relations was observed last month after Ilham Aliyev’s refusal to attend the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9. In contrast, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha visited Baku on May 25.
