Kremlin regrets Azerbaijan's cancellation of Russian cultural events Triggered by FSB raids in Yekaterinburg

Russian President’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has expressed regret over Azerbaijan’s decision to cancel all cultural events associated with Russia, including concerts, festivals, performances, and exhibitions planned by both state and private Russian institutions.

“We deeply regret such decisions. It is important to continue working on explaining the reasons and nature of those events that, in the view of the Azerbaijani side, led to such démarches,” Peskov said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Peskov emphasised that anything related to the work of Russian law enforcement agencies cannot and should not be interpreted as grounds for such a reaction.

“Everything related to the work of law enforcement agencies cannot and should not serve as a reason for such a reaction,” he said.

Despite the current developments, Peskov underscored Moscow’s commitment to maintaining positive ties with Baku.

“We are interested in continuing to develop good relations with Azerbaijan,” he added.

To recall, the cancellations were announced by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture on June 29 in response to demonstrative, targeted, and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence on ethnic grounds by Russian law enforcement agencies against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg, a city in Sverdlovsk region. Specifically, the Azerbaijani authorities pointed to police raids on June 27, targeting residences of the Azerbaijani Safarov family, resulting in the deaths of two brothers, Huseyn Safarov (an Azerbaijani citizen) and Ziyaddin Safarov (a Russian citizen), severe injuries to several others, and the detention of nine individuals, most of whom were Russian citizens of Azerbaijani origin.

The raids were conducted by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers and the Special Rapid Response Unit (SOBR). The Safarov family, originally from Aghdam, Azerbaijan, and engaged in the restaurant business (owning the “Kaspi” restaurant), was targeted. The operation was described as violent, with reports of beatings, torture with electric shocks, and degrading treatment, such as forcing detainees to “eat mud” in transport vehicles. 

By Khagan Isayev