BAKU, Azerbaijan — Police in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku searched the places of work of Russia’s state-funded information outlet Sputnik on Monday, native media reported, as tensions rose between the two countries after the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis throughout a police raid final week within the Russian metropolis of Yekaterinburg.
Sputnik had continued working within the nation by way of “unlawful financing,” regardless of having its official accreditation revoked in February 2025, the Ministry of Inside Affairs stated.
Arrests had been made through the search, it stated, with out elaborating. Photographs on Azerbaijani media shops appeared to indicate two males taken away by masked police.
They included Sputnik’s Azerbaijan’s editor-in-chief, Yevgeny Belousov, and its director, Igor Kartavykh, in line with Sputnik’s sister outlet, state-owned RIA Novosti.
In Moscow, Azerbaijan Ambassador Rahman Mustafayev was summoned to the Russian International Ministry after the raid and notified of “the unlawful detention of Russian journalists,” in line with ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, as cited by the Russian information service Interfax.
The search adopted official protests from Baku after Russian police raided the houses of ethnic Azerbaijanis within the Ural Mountains metropolis of Yekaterinburg on Friday.
Two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, had been killed, and a number of other others had been severely injured through the raids, officers stated, with 9 folks detained.
Sayfaddin Huseynli, a brother of the 2 lifeless Azerbaijanis, informed The Related Press the raids had been “an inhumane, merciless act by Russia towards migrants — an act of intimidation.”
One of many lifeless was a Russian citizen and the opposite held each Russian and Azerbaijani citizenship, Huseynli stated. Their our bodies had been being returned to Azerbaijan on Monday.
He earlier informed Azerbaijani public broadcaster ITV that the boys had been overwhelmed and subjected to electrical shocks “with none trial or investigation.”
“The so-called Russian legislation enforcement companies broke into homes in the course of the night time, beat and took folks away like animals,” he informed the broadcaster.
Azerbaijan’s International Ministry stated it anticipated “that the matter will likely be investigated and all perpetrators of violence delivered to justice as quickly as potential.“
Russia’s Investigative Committee stated Monday that one of many deaths was from coronary heart failure. It didn’t present particulars on the second sufferer, however stated a medical examination could be carried out to find out the precise explanation for loss of life for each males.
It additionally stated the raids had been a part of an investigation into a number of murders spanning greater than twenty years.
Officers in Baku responded by canceling a scheduled journey to Moscow by Azerbaijani officers, citing the “focused extrajudicial killings and violence towards Azerbaijanis on the premise of their nationality” by Russian legislation enforcement. It additionally canceled a deliberate go to to Baku by a Russian deputy prime minister, and the Tradition Ministry known as off live shows, exhibitions, festivals and performances by Russian state and personal establishments.
Moscow has maintained a muted response to Azerbaijan’s actions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Monday he “sincerely regretted” Baku’s choice to cancel the occasions.
He additionally stated Moscow would proceed to “clarify the explanation and nature” of the Yekaterinburg raids.
“All the pieces that happened is said to the work of legislation enforcement companies, and that can’t and shouldn’t be a cause for such a response. We’re concerned about additional creating our good relations with Azerbaijan,” he stated.
Ties between Moscow and Baku have been strained for months. On Dec. 25, 2024, an Azerbaijani passenger jet was hit by fireplace from the bottom because it approached Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Azerbaijani officers stated. It diverted to close by Kazakhstan, the place it crashed whereas making an attempt to land, killing 38 of 67 folks aboard.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev stated it was shot down over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by digital warfare measures amid allegations that Russian air protection programs had been making an attempt to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike close to Grozny.
Aliyev accused Russia of making an attempt to “hush up” what occurred for a number of days. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he known as a “tragic incident” however stopped in need of acknowledging accountability.
In Might, Aliyev declined to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
Later that month, Ukrainian International Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Azerbaijan, signaling nearer ties between Baku and Kyiv.