Azerbaijan has halted activities of “Russian House” in Baku according to local media reports on Thursday, following accusations of espionage. This is being described as an escalation of tensions between the two countries.
According to reports, Baku has sent a diplomatic note to Moscow “officially informing about the termination of Rossotrudnichestvo agency's activities in Azerbaijan”.
Rossotrudnichestvo declares itself as “a leading Russian agency whose main mission is to strengthen Russia’s humanitarian influence in the world.” The organization also has offices called “Russian House” in up to 71 countries worldwide.
Commenting on the closure of “Russian House”, an undisclosed source said to media that “Azerbaijan doesn’t need any external assistance, especially when it is provided based on non-transparent schemes, and organization’s structure has clearly espionage nature."
Earlier in January, a privately owned Azerbaijani television channel, Baku TV aired a report accusing the Russian House in Baku of engaging in anti-Azerbaijani espionage activities under the announced cultural and humanitarian work. The report which alleged that the Russian cultural center was acting as an intelligence hub, particularly stated: “Unfortunately, this is no longer the ‘Russian House’ but a house of Russian espionage.”
On January 27, Azerbaijani Ambassador Rahman Mustafayev was summoned to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Russian side emphasized the unconditional importance of building relations between Russia and Azerbaijan in the spirit of strategic partnership and alliance, based on the Declaration signed at the highest level on February 22, 2022, in the national interests of both states.
In this regard, concern was expressed over a series of recent anti-Russian publications in Azerbaijani media, as well as the disinformation campaign against the ‘Russian House’ in Baku. The baseless nature of these accusations was underscored,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
An online magazine Intelligence Online called Rossotrudnichestvo a “Russian soft power agency” that is “a highly versatile tool in Russia's public relations armoury that has close links with the intelligence services.”
The agency’s head, Yevgeny Primakov, is a grandson of Yevgeny Primakov, former Russian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, who was “a Soviet and Russian spy and politician,” according to Wikipedia.
India is aiming to "boost bilateral linkages" as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived for an official visit in Amman on Monday (15 December), a...
President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC over edited footage of a speech that made it appear he encouraged supporters to ...
Ford Motor Company said on Monday it will take a $19.5 billion writedown and scrap several electric vehicle (EV) models, marking a major retreat from ...
Schools across Cambodia and Thailand were forced to close on Monday (15 December) as border clashes between the two countries escalated, with the deat...
Police in Providence in Rhode Island are going door to door for home surveillance footage as the hunt continues for the shooter who killed two Brown U...
The European Union’s interest in investing in regional connectivity projects in the South Caucasus, such as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is driven by a need for strategic credibility and a tangible foreign policy success, according to a regional expert.
Azerbaijan and Pakistan are bolstering bilateral ties and cooperation across energy, defence, trade and regional connectivity. This was highlighted at a high-level meeting of the two countries’ foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday, 14 December.
Azerbaijan’s post-conflict reconstruction in Karabakh is attracting international attention. The book by British author Graeme Wilson documents this journey, combining first-hand reporting and digital storytelling to highlight both the region’s restoration and the human stories behind it.
Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, has welcomed the expansion of ties with neighbouring Azerbaijan, stating that Tehran and Baku are committed to building a ‘shared, secure and mutually respectful’ future, local media reported on Friday.
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has offered condolences to President Donald Trump following an ISIS attack near the ancient city of Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter, Syrian and U.S. officials said Sunday.
At least 17 people, including students, were killed and 20 others injured after a school bus fell off a cliff in northern Colombia on Sunday, authorities said.
At least 37 people have died and dozens of others were injured after flash floods swept through Morocco’s Atlantic coastal city of Safi on Sunday, authorities said.
The European Union’s interest in investing in regional connectivity projects in the South Caucasus, such as the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is driven by a need for strategic credibility and a tangible foreign policy success, according to a regional expert.
Shadow Trade is an investigative documentary by AnewZ that examines how global sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 war in Ukraine have been weakened through informal trade routes, permissive transit regimes, and overlooked commercial practices.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have signed a new agreement on the transportation of natural gas through Uzbek territory, strengthening bilateral energy cooperation and supporting regional energy security ahead of the winter season.
Kazakhstan is assessing the scale of damage and potential losses following a recent attack on infrastructure operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a key export route for the country’s oil.
The Taliban leadership in Afghanistan opted out of a major regional meeting held in Iran’s capital Tehran on Sunday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment