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.
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Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 28 September 2026. These are the top stories making headlines in technology.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has arrived in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on bilateral ties and key regional and international developments, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump has denied reports that he offered Iran sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for nuclear concessions.
The European Union's decision to simultaneously advance accession talks with Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro and Albania marks its most ambitious enlargement effort in more than two decades.
Kazakhstan and Germany have agreed to expand cooperation in critical minerals, industry, energy and transport, with Astana seeking a greater German role in developing supply chains and higher-value production.
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has proposed building a new 1,000-megawatt nuclear power unit in Armenia as Yerevan weighs competing international offers, its head Alexey Likhachev said on Tuesday.
Freight on the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway could soon move faster across borders after Georgia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye signed a new customs protocol aimed at cutting delays and streamlining transit.
Afghanistan and Belarus have agreed to expand health cooperation, with a focus on medicines, medical equipment and training healthcare workers, following talks between the two countries’ health ministers in Minsk on Tuesday (29 September).
Saudi Arabia is facing a widening security challenge from Yemen as Houthi forces consolidate recent territorial gains along the Red Sea coast and step up attacks on the kingdom.
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