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Tensions Are Rising Between Russia and Azerbaijan. Why Is This Happening Now?
AZERBAIJAN, JUL 1 – Azerbaijan canceled Russian official visits and cultural events after police raids in Yekaterinburg led to the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijani brothers, prompting criminal investigations and diplomatic protests.
- Tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan escalated sharply in late June and early July 2025 after Russian police killed two Azerbaijani brothers during a Yekaterinburg raid and Azerbaijan retaliated with raids and diplomatic measures.
- The raid targeted brothers Ziyaddin, 55, and Huseyn Safarov, 60, accused in an old murder case, who died from severe trauma amid allegations of torture and ethnic intolerance against Azerbaijanis in Russia.
- In response, Azerbaijan cancelled all Russian-linked cultural events, suspended high-level meetings including a Russian Deputy Prime Minister's visit, and raided Sputnik Azerbaijan, detaining seven journalists, while Russia protested these actions as unfriendly.
- Forensic examinations confirmed the brothers died from blood loss and shock due to extensive injuries, prompting Azerbaijan to open a criminal investigation, while Russia promised diplomatic protection for detained Russian nationals.
- These events reflect a systemic deterioration in Russia-Azerbaijan relations marked by reciprocal legal actions, rising ethnic tensions, and deepening mistrust suggesting prolonged strained ties without immediate resolution.
82 Articles
82 Articles
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Russia is expanding its military presence in Armenia amid worsening relations with Azerbaijan.
The death of two Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg triggered an unprecedented crisis between Moscow and Baku, but the causes of the crisis have been dug up all past years, experts say. Azerbaijan wanted to change the nature of relations with the former metropolitan area, reduce Russian influence in the South Caucasus and from the country of the "near country" to become an equal partner. BBC asked specialists whether the conflict would reach a comple…
Russia has to deal with increasingly self-confident neighbouring states. Azerbaijan in particular is rehearsing the uprising. Now there is a chance that Russia will lose its supremacy in the South Caucasus. By S. Stöber.
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Long-standing hostility between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be reduced by an initiative from the Trump administration, it was reported on Thursday, July 3rd. Critics of the proposal point to its potential to make an existing conflict even more complex, however. Nakhchivan is a landlocked autonomous enclave of Azerbaijan. Baku is ambitious to develop a working physical connection to it, which would typically involve running a ‘corridor’ through …
Another round of escalation in relations between Azerbaijan and Russia
The most recent spat is connected to the targeting of ethnic AzerbaijanisOriginally published on Global VoicesImage by Arzu Geybullayeva, created via CanvaPro. Just this May, nearly six months after the fatal Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash near the city of Aqtau in Kazakhstan, tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan appeared to be at their peak, with authorities in Baku accusing their Russian counterparts of dragging their feet in sharing…
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