Relations in between Russia and Azerbaijan hit an all-time low this week, as simmering stress over the death of 2 Azerbaijani guys amid mass arrests in Russia have actually quickly escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis.The Moscow Times traces how relations between Russia and Azerbaijan unraveled, and why they might worsen before they get better.Azerbaijani Airlines crashTensions in between the 2 countries initially flared in late December, when an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed while attempting to land in the North Caucasus city of Grozny.
The flight, which had actually departed from Baku, went down in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 individuals and hurting 29 others.An initial report from Kazakh authorities appeared to support claims that the airplane had actually come under fire from Russian air defense systems in Grozny, which was under Ukrainian drone attack at the time.
Images and video from the crash website showed the rear of the airplane filled with holes.Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a rare apology in a call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev however stopped short of accepting responsibility.
The occurrence apparently affected Aliyevs decision to avoid Russias May 9 Victory Day celebrations.In the weeks following the crash, Baku took a series of actions seen as retaliation, including closing a Moscow-funded cultural center, barring Russian authorities from going into the nation over offensive remarks and forcing Kremlin-funded media to shut their offices.Deadly arrests in YekaterinburgThe diplomatic rupture deepened on June 27 when Russian law enforcement authorities in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg arrested dozens of individuals in connection with the unsolved murders of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs going back to the early 2000s.
2 Azerbaijani guys, identified as brothers Ziyaddin Safarov, 55, and Huseyn Safarov, 60, passed away throughout the arrests.
Authorities stated one passed away of a heart attack, while the others death stayed under investigation.
However autopsies conducted after their bodies were sent to Baku concluded both had died from extreme blood loss and shock caused by substantial physical trauma.Azerbaijans Prosecutor Generals Office launched a criminal investigation into what it referred to as the vicious and intentional murder of the 2 men, accusing Russian cops of subjecting them to abuse and major bodily injuries throughout their arrest and time in custody.Meanwhile, Russian detectives said six ethnic Azerbaijani guys with Russian citizenship were charged and placed in pre-trial detention after the arrests in Yekaterinburg.
The men, some of whom appeared in court with visible injuries, were accused of murder and attempted murder.According to Kommersant, authorities think the men become part of a the mob group behind the 2001 killing of business owner Yunus Pashayev, the 2010 tried murder of businessman Fehruz Shirinov and the 2011 killing of vegetable storage facility owner Ikram Hajiyev.Authorities in Baku respondAzerbaijans Culture Ministry announced on June 29 that it would cancel all Russian-linked cultural occasions, mentioning what it called the extrajudicial killings of its people in Russia.
The South Caucasus countrys parliament also backed out of a prepared bilateral conference with legislators in Moscow.
So, too, was a go to by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to Azerbaijan suddenly called off.The following day, law enforcement authorities in Baku robbed the offices of Sputnik Azerbaijan, the local affiliate of the Russian state-funded news network.
Sputnik officially suspended operations in the South Caucasus nation earlier this year after a brand-new media law restricted foreign ownership, it continued releasing content online.Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry declared the news outlet continues to operate through unlawful financing.Several employees were jailed, consisting of Sputnik Azerbaijan editor-in-chief Igor Kartavykh and deputy editor Evgeny Belousov.
Unofficial local media reports declared the two had ties to Russias FSB security service.Russia reacted by summoning Azerbaijans ambassador in Moscow, implicating Baku of intentional actions targeted at dismantling bilateral relations and disturbance in Russias internal affairs.Azerbaijan busts declared Russian criminal groupAzerbaijani authorities on July 1 said they arrested at least 8 Russian nationals implicated of being members of organized criminal groups that participated in cyber crimes and drug trafficking.
Images from court procedures showed a few of the Russian detainees with noticeable injuries.The next day, the Kremlin said it had discovered all the information in videos revealing the arrests and vowed to safeguard Russian people through diplomatic channels and ...
all the ways readily available to us.Russian media identified the group as including IT specialists, businesspeople, and others whose factors for being in Azerbaijan were not right away clear, though authorities have actually not verified this information.On the exact same day that authorities in Baku detained the group of Russians, law enforcement representatives inYekaterinburg violentlyarrestedthe head of a regional Azerbaijani diaspora group, with a video on social media revealing security service personnel smashing the windows of his SUV and dragging him from the vehicle.Local mediareportedthat the diaspora leader, Shakhin Shykhlinsky, was questioned as a witness in the ongoing cold case murder investigation and consequently released from cops custody later on that night.