Russia distances itself from calls to overthrow Azerbaijan’s government Moscow responds to statements by wanted Russian journalists

Statements by Russian journalists placed on a wanted list by Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office over calls for the violent overthrow of the country’s constitutional order do not reflect Moscow’s approach to relations with Baku, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

“We know about this. The statements of these private individuals in no way reflect Moscow’s approach to Azerbaijan and relations with the Republic.

We believe that Russian-Azerbaijani ties should develop on the basis of the existing bilateral legal framework, above all the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed at the highest level in Moscow on February 22, 2022,” the diplomat said in a comment published on the Foreign Ministry’s website.

The remarks at the centre of the case were made by three Russian nationals—Ivan Knyazev (a Moscow 24 presenter), Semyon Uralov (a political consultant and media expert), and Aleksey Chadayev (a TV journalist and former adviser to Russia’s transport minister)—whom Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office has placed on an international wanted list after charging them in absentia.

The charges stem from their appearances on the YouTube program “Clarity of Understanding” hosted on Uralov’s channel, specifically episodes aired on July 14 and August 13, 2026, in which they discussed using violent methods against Azerbaijan, forcibly changing its constitutional order, violating its territorial integrity, inciting national hatred, and making public calls related to terrorism, including threats of physical elimination of officials. 

Chadayev, in particular, spoke of scenarios involving ethnic separatism among groups such as the Talish and Lezgins, possible partition of territories, and even military options like strengthening the Caspian Fleet for a potential landing in Baku; he later resigned from his advisory post, stating he did not want a personal expert view to affect interstate relations.

By Jeyhun Aghazada