Tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia have escalated in recent days, which has also led to open criticism of Vladimir Putin on Azerbaijan's national television. Something that was previously considered unnatural.
Relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate, and the reason was the murder of two Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg. Azerbaijani citizens Hussein and Ziyadin Safarov were tortured and then killed by Russian law enforcement agencies – something Moscow denies.
Autopsies of two Azerbaijani brothers who died in Russian custody showed they were beaten to death, amid a worsening of relations between Baku and Moscow, authorities in the Caucasian country said.
This was the occasion, but not the cause, of the deteriorating relations between Moscow and the former Soviet republic. The real reason is Azerbaijan's growing regional influence and authority. Russia, for its part, does not want strong and independent states on its borders – especially in its former sphere of influence.
On Azerbaijani national television, criticism of the war criminal Vladimir Putin is now openly spoken.
„What happened, Putin? Are you so worried that Azerbaijan is becoming a strong state? For the first time in 200 years, Azerbaijan has returned lands, restored its sovereignty and is pursuing a principled policy. You are used to dominating the peoples that Russia has forcibly incorporated into its territory. "Whether it was during the tsarist or Soviet era, you considered yourself a superior race. Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Turkmens and other peoples were always considered second-class citizens. And although the empire has sunk into oblivion, your thinking has not changed," said the AzTV presenter.
The violence against ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia was also condemned in the European Union. EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Anita Hipper called the methods of the Russian security forces barbaric. And she stressed that Europe will monitor the investigation of this case, Ukrainian TV channel FREEDOM reported.
The turning point in relations between the two countries was the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane (Flight 8243). The plane was hit by a Russian missile and crashed in Kazakhstan. Dozens died, and Moscow, in its old tradition, denied its crime.
On June 27, nearly 50 people from the Azerbaijani diaspora were arrested in Russia on suspicion of a murder committed in 2001. The main suspects in the case, brothers Hussein and Ziyadin Safarov, died of their injuries after being detained. It is unclear why the Russian services have stepped up their efforts now.