Azerbaijan cancels cultural events involving Russian state, private entities

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan on Sunday declared that all cultural events planned in the country involving Russian state and private entities have been canceled, as Baku claimed two of its citizens were killed during a raid in the city of Yekaterinburg on Friday.

A statement by Azerbaijan’s Culture Ministry on X said that the cultural events involving Russian state and private entities have been canceled in response to the “targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence against Azerbaijanis based on their ethnicity.”

The statement further said that the decision to cancel such events was also made “considering the systematic nature of such incidents in recent times.”

The events canceled include concerts, festivals, performances, exhibitions, and similar activities, according to Azerbaijani state news agency Azertac.

On Saturday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry declared that it summoned Moscow’s charge d’affaires to Baku, protesting the raids carried out by Russian security forces a day earlier, during which it claimed two Azerbaijanis were killed.

According to the statement, several others were seriously injured and nine people were arrested. It said that Baku expects the issue to be investigated and all perpetrators of the violence to be brought to justice “as soon as possible.”

On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Azerbaijan’s protest about the arrests, stating they are Russians suspected of serious crimes committed in the past years.

Earlier, the Russian Investigative Committee’s branch in the Sverdlovsk region announced that it had stopped the activities of an “ethnic criminal group” suspected of a number of murders and attempted murders in Yekaterinburg in 2001, 2010, and 2011.

Russia's Investigative Committee later said that, following the spread of information on the alleged death of two Azerbaijanis, it tasked the acting head of its Sverdlovsk branch to submit a detailed report on the situation surrounding the incident to its central office.

Meanwhile, a statement by Azerbaijan's National Assembly said that its delegation scheduled to take part in an interparliamentary meeting in Moscow will not be visiting Russia.