Russia ready to resume humanitarian, cultural ties with Azerbaijan, says Putin's envoy

Russia is ready to resume humanitarian ties with Azerbaijan to the same extent as its Azerbaijani partners, and there are no deep reasons preventing the renewal of cultural relations between the two countries, Russian Presidential Envoy for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy told Russian media.

On October 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“We have always said that Russia is ready for whatever our partners are ready for. And to the same extent that our Azerbaijani friends and colleagues are ready to resume humanitarian, scientific, educational, and cultural ties, we are equally ready,” Shvydkoy told RIA Novosti, speaking about the prospects for restoring cultural relations between the two countries.

He emphasised that Russia and Azerbaijan share a centuries-long history, with their peoples closely intertwined through family ties and united by spiritual and moral values that form the foundations of society in both countries. “As I see it, there are no deep reasons not to fully restore all relations,” Shvydkoy noted.

Earlier in June, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture announced the cancellation of all cultural events planned by Russian state and private institutions in Azerbaijan, including concerts, festivals, performances, exhibitions, and other activities.

It should be recalled that on the morning of June 27, 2025, a joint operation was carried out in Yekaterinburg by the Russian National Guard, the criminal investigation department of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the regional FSB unit. As a result, Azerbaijani citizens living at various addresses in Yekaterinburg were detained. The arrests were based on suspicions of their involvement in previously committed murders in Russia.

However, as stated by the head of the Investigative Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, State Counselor of Justice of the 3rd Class Nemat Avazov, during this operation Russian security forces used excessive physical force against the detainees and subjected them to brutal torture. The detainees’ bodies showed multiple blunt-force injuries causing severe bodily harm. One of the detainees, Azerbaijani citizen Huseyn Safarov (born 1956), died from his injuries on the same day, June 27, around 3:00 p.m., inside the administrative building of Yekaterinburg’s law enforcement authorities. His brother, Ziyaddin Safarov (born 1970), died from beatings in a service vehicle of the operative authorities.

On June 30, the bodies of both brothers were transported to Baku, where, by order of the Investigative Department, a forensic medical examination was conducted with the participation of experts, forensic prosecutors, and video recording of the procedure. The experts documented numerous bruises, abrasions, and open or displaced fractures of the ribs and other bones, consistent with injuries inflicted by blunt-force beatings.

By Khagan Isayev