In early October, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, this was the first sign in a year of loosening relations between the two countries. This led to Russian journalists previously detained in Azerbaijan starting to be released from detention.
Relations between Moscow and Baku began to deteriorate rapidly in late 2024, when Russia was blamed for the crash of an Azerbaijani plane over Kazakhstan. It is this tragedy that has become the reference point for the distance between countries in terms of diplomacy. The situation was aggravated by other scandals. URA.RU recalls how relations between countries have changed over the past year and how they can be described now.
The plane crash in Aktau – the beginning of the end of a relationship
The deterioration of diplomatic relations began with the disaster of December 25, 2024, when an Embraer E190 passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. There were 67 people on board; 27 passengers and two crew members survived.
Azerbaijan's accusations and Aliyev's demands
Azerbaijani authorities said preliminary data showed that the plane was “hit by external metal objects”. Then there are suggestions about the possibility of being hit by missiles from the Russian Pantsir-S air defense system or the impact of electronic warfare. President Ilham Aliyev demanded that Russia officially admit guilt, punish those responsible and pay compensation. He often maintains an accusatory stance, insists on compensating the families of those killed and injured in the plane crash, and announces that he is preparing documents to file a lawsuit against Russia to the international court regarding this incident.
Immediately after the incident, the Russian side expressed condolences regarding the tragedy. President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with Aliyev, assured that Moscow is interested in an objective investigation and is ready to assist. As of today, the final results of the investigation have not yet been released; they are expected in early 2026.
A year later, the parties met in person and discussed the disaster.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev held their first large-scale meeting on October 9 in Dushanbe after a sharp cooling in relations between the two countries. The main topic of conversation between heads of state was the AZAL plane crash. After that, Putin for the first time publicly announced the results of the investigation into the cause of the accident and repeatedly sent his condolences to Azerbaijan.
Detailed information from Russia
According to the Russian leader, the death of the plane occurred due to the simultaneous combination of two tragic circumstances. First, at the time of the disaster, there was a drone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine nearby, pursued by Russian air defense. Second, the air defense system had technical problems, which is why the fired missile did not hit the plane directly but exploded at a distance.
“In our first telephone conversation, I not only apologized for the tragedy that occurred in the skies of Russia, but also expressed my sincerest condolences to the families of the victims. I would like to repeat all this… The second reason was a technical error in the Russian air defense system itself. And the two missiles that were fired did not hit the plane directly – if this had happened, it would have crashed on the spot – but exploded… at a distance of about 10 meters,” Putin said at the meeting. meet.
The head of state clarified that, according to the results of the investigation, the disaster was not caused by the destructive parts of the rocket, but by their fragments, which led to the destruction of the passenger plane. Putin emphasized that the investigation into the incident was almost complete: Moscow once again promised to conduct a legal review of the actions of all officials and ensure compensation for the affected families.
Aliyev thanked Putin for the timely information on the tragic subject and noted that he was confident in the objectivity of the investigation, which is under the personal control of the Russian president. He added that he hopes the two countries' societies will have a positive perception of the leaders' joint decisions.
Closure of the Russian House of Representatives and accusations of espionage
More than a month after the plane crash began, Azerbaijan announced the closure of the “Russian House” in Baku, a branch of the Rossotrudnichestvo agency. This happened in February 2025. The official reason given was that the organization was not registered as a legal entity, which, according to representatives of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a violation of local law.
At the same time, the Russian side repeatedly requested support in legalizing the center but was denied registration. On the contrary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan noted that the official notice of the termination of Rossotrudnichestvo's activities was allegedly sent to the Russian side.
According to the Report agency, the republican government considers closing the House of Representatives to protect national interests and demonstrate independence from outside influence. The situation became even worse after tightening control over the construction of the Russian House in Baku. Local journalists noted that they also baselessly accused Russian representatives of espionage. Today the situation is still uncertain, but Rossotrudnichestvo hopes that the Russian House in Baku will resume operations soon.
A law enforcement operation further worsened relations between Russia and Azerbaijan
A new scandal that severely affected Russian-Azerbaijani relations occurred in Yekaterinburg. In July 2025, a large-scale operation was carried out against indigenous people of Azerbaijan suspected of forming an ethnic organized crime group and involved in a number of serious crimes. Investigation and investigative activities began in the early morning of June 27, when the suspects' homes were searched. As a result, eight people were detained: the Safarov brothers (Mazakhir, Akif, Ayaz, Bakir and Kamal), as well as Akhliman Ganjiev, Shahin Lalayev and Aziz Abasov.
During the investigation, it became clear that the defendants were suspected of the murder of businessman Yunis Pashev in 2001, the assassination of his friend Fehruz in 2010 and the murder of Ikrom Hajiyev in 2011. According to available information, 7 of the detainees did not admit their guilt, while Mazahir Safarov was supposed to be able to testify against the remaining members. of the group.
The arrest of the head of the Azerbaijani community in Yekaterinburg, Shahin Shykhlinski, which occurred on the evening of July 1, caused special resonance. He was arrested while driving past the Baku Plaza shopping center.
All detainees were held in a pre-trial detention center, where they remain to this day. Trials are held behind closed doors with increased security measures.
Baku's harsh reaction
Azerbaijan's reaction to the mass arrest of citizens in Yekaterinburg was immediate and harsh. The country's authorities not only asked Russia to conduct a thorough investigation, but also announced the death of two people detained due to torture, denying official information about heart failure. Retaliatory measures include canceling cultural events featuring Russian artists, suspending official visits, and launching an information campaign against Russian policies.
According to experts, such a harsh reaction is the result of accumulated discontent, including unresolved issues surrounding the plane crash near Aktau in 2024. Political scientists also draw attention to rapprochement with Türkiye amid distancing from Moscow.
Journalists have noticed the consequences
Detention and search at Sputnik newsroom
After the uproar about the detention of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, the office of the Russian news agency Sputnik-Azerbaijan in Baku was searched on the morning of June 30. According to information published by Report citing sources in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, the building has been completely blocked and temporarily limited access to outsiders. Russian diplomats who arrived at the scene of the event could not contact the editorial board, among them were citizens of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, RT editor-in-chief and Rossiya Segodnya media group Margarita Simonyan reported that the agency's employees also lost access to the phone. According to the publication Minval Politika, during the search, at least two employees of Sputnik-Azerbaijan, who, according to preliminary information, were working secretly, were detained. Furthermore, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Azerbaijani security forces did not talk about the reasons for the strong action.
As a result, 7 employees of the Sputnik Azerbaijan agency were detained, including Yevgeny Belousov and Igor Kartavykh, after the agency's certificate was revoked. Both managers were imprisoned for illegal business and fraud. However, in October, Kartavykh and Belousov were released from captivity, after which they returned to Moscow.
Economic and diplomatic relations
Since the beginning of 2025, representatives of Russia and Azerbaijan continue to face mutual entry restrictions amid continuing tensions between the two countries. For example, in February 2025, Azerbaijan refused to grant entry to Russian State Duma Deputy Nikolai Valuev, and three months later, Russian border guards did not allow Azerbaijani parliamentarian Azer Badamov, who was to participate in events in Astrakhan, to enter their territory.
At the same time, despite the diplomatic crisis, economic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have not been completely interrupted. According to data from January to September 2025, trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan amounted to 3.659 billion USD, an increase of 4.6% over the same period in 2024. Currently, relations between Russia and Azerbaijan continue to be in limbo, but there are prerequisites for improvement.
