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Azerbaijan retaliates against Russia, causing yet another spike in mutual acrimony [1]

['Irakli Machaidze', 'Alexander Thompson']

Date: 2025-07

Azerbaijan is giving as good as it gets in its latest flare-up of rancor with Russia.

In a clearly orchestrated show of retaliation, authorities in Baku on July 1 detained more than 10 Russian nationals, including employees at the local office of the Russian media outlet Sputnik, as well as suspected members of criminal gangs. Video released by Azerbaijani authorities depicted some of the arrested individuals enduring a humiliating “perp walk,” awkwardly moving in unison with their hands holding the back of their heads.

The Azerbaijani action came in response to a Russian security sweep against ethnic Azeris on July 27 in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg, in which some of those taken into custody were paraded for television cameras in a humiliating fashion. Two Azeri men died in connection with the police operation. On July 1, Azerbaijani officials asserted the deceased men were tortured while in custody, contributing to their deaths.

The two countries have traded angry diplomatic notes protesting the actions of the other. Both sides have likewise defended their actions as consistent with each country’s respective laws.

Russian officials have reacted to the arrests in Baku by widening their crackdown on Azerbaijanis in Russia.

Meanwhile, an Azerbaijani media report on July 1 accused the Russian Defense Ministry of direct involvement in the accidental shootdown of an Azerbaijani civilian jetliner last December, resulting in the deaths of 38 of the 67 individuals aboard. Previously, Azerbaijan had implicated only local air defense officials in the tragedy.

The incident has served as the touchstone of bilateral friction since then. Russia has evaded taking any responsibility for the shootdown. The report published by the state-connected outlet Minval says the outlet received a packet of information from an anonymous source containing a statement purportedly written by a captain in the Russian air defense forces, who explains the decision-making chain of command relating to the shootdown.

In the statement, the captain, identified as Dmitry Paladichuk, claims that “fire on the plane was opened on the order of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.” The Minval report also states the anonymous source provided “video, audio recordings and details about the inappropriate state of equipment.”

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[1] Url: https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-retaliates-against-russia-causing-yet-another-spike-in-mutual-acrimony

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