MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Moscow is maintaining constant contact with Baku, working to defend the interests of detained Russian nationals, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing.
"Our embassy and Foreign Ministry are in continuous dialogue with the Azerbaijani side, safeguarding the interests of detained Russians, using all available legal mechanisms and established diplomatic procedures," the Kremlin official stated, responding to questions regarding the level of dialogue, potential direct talks between the heads of state, and the latest developments concerning the detained Russian citizens.
Peskov also emphasized that Russia’s prosecutor general and the head of the Investigative Committee are in regular contact with their Azerbaijani counterparts.
On June 28, the Russian Investigative Committee’s office for the Sverdlovsk Region announced that local authorities had dismantled an ethnic criminal group implicated in a series of murders in Yekaterinburg in the early 2000s. Eight suspects were taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigation. According to preliminary reports, one of the suspects died from heart failure, while the cause of death for another is still being determined. Their bodies were transferred from Yekaterinburg to Baku, where, following a forensic examination, Baku claimed evidence of physical violence and lodged a protest against the Russian side.
Subsequently, Azerbaijan canceled cultural and other events involving Russian participation. Later, as part of a broader crackdown on media, Russian journalists Igor Kartavykh and Yevgeny Belousov, along with several other Russian nationals, were detained and placed in custody. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that consular officials had been granted access to 13 Russian citizens held in Azerbaijan. The two countries exchanged formal protests over the incidents, and their foreign ministries summoned each other’s envoys.