MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russia is working to repatriate 11 Russian citizens from Azerbaijan, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"It was stressed that the soonest release of our nationals will be an important step toward normalizing and promoting further development of bilateral relations," she said in an interview with Vesti.

Director of the ministry’s fourth CIS countries department, Mikhail Kalugin, told TASS earlier that the release of 11 Russian nationals who were arrested in Azerbaijan last summer would be a major step toward strengthening relations between the two countries.

The Russians were detained in Azerbaijan in late June 2025, and on July 1 an Azerbaijani court placed them in custody for four months. On October 28, 2025, a court extended their arrest for three more months. The Russian nationals are accused of drug trafficking and cyber fraud.