Moscow reacts to detention of Russian reporter in Azerbaijan
(MENAFN) The Kremlin is pushing for the swift release of three Russian journalists detained in Azerbaijan, according to spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The arrests occurred during a police raid on the Sputnik Azerbaijan office in Baku earlier this week. Those detained include Igor Kartavykh, head of Sputnik’s editorial office, editor-in-chief Evgeny Belousov, and Ruptly editor Aytekin Guseynova. Azerbaijani authorities claim the raid was prompted by allegations of “illegal financing.”
Peskov emphasized that Moscow is treating the situation with great seriousness and is working through direct channels to resolve it. He criticized Baku’s actions as inconsistent with the principles of press freedom and the nature of Russian-Azerbaijani relations, describing the incident as an “emotional reaction.”
The arrests followed a Russian police operation in Yekaterinburg last week, where several alleged Azerbaijani criminals were detained, with two suspects reportedly dying during the raid. In response, Azerbaijan canceled cultural events linked to Russia and accused the detained journalists of acting as Russian security agents — a charge Moscow has dismissed as absurd.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Azerbaijani Ambassador Rakhman Mustafaev to deliver a formal protest and demand the journalists’ release. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled Baku’s actions as hostile and unlawful. Dmitry Kiselev, head of Rossiya Segodnya, which oversees Sputnik, also condemned the detentions, calling the treatment of the journalists unjust and the espionage accusations baseless.
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