Azerbaijan summons Russian ambassador over attack on SOCAR facility

Azerbaijan has summoned Russia’s ambassador to Baku, Mikhail Yevdokimov, and lodged a strong protest over a drone strike that targeted a SOCAR fuel station in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region.

According to a statement from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Yevdokimov was called to the ministry on July 6, where officials presented a note verbale protesting the attack carried out on the evening of July 5.

The ministry said the strike was not an isolated incident, noting that several SOCAR-owned facilities in Ukraine, including a gas distribution compressor station and an oil depot in Odesa, had previously been affected by military attacks and other consequences of hostilities. Those incidents caused significant material damage and left company employees injured.

“The continuation of such incidents, despite repeated warnings, indicates that the attacks are being carried out deliberately,” the ministry stated.

The Azerbaijani side also raised concerns over airstrikes that damaged the premises of Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Kyiv and its Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv. The ministry stressed the need to strictly observe obligations related to the protection of diplomatic and consular missions under the Vienna Conventions.

“The Russian side was called upon to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all the aforementioned incidents, provide appropriate explanations regarding the attacks, and ensure full compliance with its international obligations concerning the protection of civilian objects and diplomatic missions,” the ministry’s statement read.

By Jeyhun Aghazada