The National Security and Defense Council claims that Russia has simultaneously made enemies for itself in both Baku and Yerevan.
Previously, the Kremlin played on the contradictions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, keeping both countries under control through Karabakh. Then Russian troops fled from Karabakh. Today, Russia has lost its levers of influence, and lacks resources.
The head of the National Security and Defense Council's Center for Personal Data, Andriy Kovalenko, wrote about this.
On June 30, Sputnik employees were detained in Azerbaijan; according to local media, they were FSB officers.
“This is no longer a hint, but a direct signal to Moscow: its agents are being cleaned out, and humanitarian and information cooperation is being stopped. And this is a response not only to the pressure on the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Russian Federation or the downed Azerbaijani plane – this is a reaction to the general toxicity of Russia,” Kovalenko notes.
Armenia has officially declared: Moscow should not interfere in internal affairs. Pro-Russian politicians, businessmen and churchmen are being arrested in Yerevan.
“The story with Ukraine has given a signal to others: Moscow does not recognize someone else's subjectivity in the post-Soviet space – and this makes it dangerous and weak at the same time. Everyone is drawing conclusions,” the head of the CPD noted.
And he, Kovalenko adds, is alone: Transcaucasia is no longer under Moscow. And it never will be.
Escalation between Azerbaijan and Russia: Briefly
Russian media reported that on June 27, more than 50 natives of Azerbaijan were detained in the Sverdlovsk region. Some of them were later released after investigative actions. According to Russian sources, the detention is related to a murder case that took place back in 2001. Two of the detainees are reported to have died.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the raids. According to Azerbaijani diplomats, the searches left several Azerbaijanis dead, some seriously injured, and nine detained.
“We expect the Russian side to immediately and transparently investigate and punish those responsible for this unacceptable act of violence,” the department noted.
Due to the above-mentioned actions, which, according to Baku, were of an “ethnically motivated and violent nature,” Azerbaijan completely cancelled the holding of Russian cultural events on its territory – both those organized by state and private entities.
Later, Azerbaijani police detained two agents of the Russian FSB who were working undercover in the editorial office of the Sputnik propaganda agency in Baku.
The incident occurred after Azerbaijan suspended Sputnik Azerbaijan in February. The decision was intended to ensure parity in the presence of state media: the number of the agency's journalists in Baku was to match the number of representatives of the Azerbaijani agency AZERTAC in Russia. However, Sputnik's editorial staff continued to work, ignoring the government's order.
