The Russian Foreign Ministry has delivered a formal protest to Azerbaijani Ambassador Rahman Mustafayev regarding the recent detention of Russian citizens working for Sputnik-Azerbaijan, Azernews reports citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ambassador Mustafayev was summoned by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. During the meeting, Galuzin handed over a verbal note expressing Moscow’s strong disapproval of what it described as Baku’s “unfriendly actions.”
The note specifically called for the immediate release of Igor Kartavykh and Yevgeny Belousov—employees of the Russian state-run Rossiya Segodnya agency’s Baku branch—who were detained by Azerbaijani law enforcement during an operation at the Sputnik-Azerbaijan office.
Moscow also addressed the recent detention of Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin in Yekaterinburg. The Russian side emphasized that those actions were carried out strictly in accordance with national legislation and were related to serious criminal investigations involving past offenses, including those against Azerbaijani citizens on Russian territory.
