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Only Azerbaijanis who break laws face prosecution in Russia — Kremlin

"Practically all the representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora are our law-abiding citizens who are duly respected here," Dmitry Peskov emphasized

MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. The vast majority of representatives from the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia are law-abiding citizens and only those who violate the law are persecuted, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists at a briefing.

"A very large Azerbaijani diaspora resides in Russia," he commented on tensions in relations between Moscow and Baku. "Practically all the representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora are our law-abiding citizens who are duly respected here," the Kremlin official emphasized.

He concluded that "those citizens who violate the law are being legally prosecuted."

At the end of June, a number of representatives of Azerbaijan’s diaspora accused of serious crimes were detained in Russia’s Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijan voiced protest over the alleged use of violence by the police. Later, Baku canceled all cultural events along the Russian track and detained Russian journalists from the Sputnik Azerbaijan media portal. On July 18, the Azerbaijani authorities said that they would not attend a session of the CIS Economic Council in Moscow.

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Dmitry Peskov Russia's domestic policy

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