Azerbaijan announced today the closure of a Russian cultural center in Baku amid worsening relations with Moscow following the crash of a passenger plane, for which Russia is allegedly responsible, Agence France-Presse reported.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykan Hajizada said that a diplomatic note was sent to Russia on February 3, notifying that the activities of the “Russian House” were being terminated. in the capital of the Caucasian country.
He added that the center, whose purpose was to teach Russian language and culture, "was not registered as a legal entity" and that the organization had "seriously violated Azerbaijani legislation."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow expected the issue to be "resolved positively" and that Russia was ready to register the center in accordance with Azerbaijani laws.
Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan - two historically close countries - have been at a standstill since the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane on December 25, which killed 38 people, AFP noted.
The circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear, as the plane was diverted to Kazakhstan after failing to land in Grozny, the capital of the Russian autonomous republic of Chechnya. There, the air defense systems were activated due to a Ukrainian drone attack.
A preliminary investigation by Kazakhstan, the conclusions of which were published on Tuesday, shows that the plane was probably hit by "external objects", but it does not directly accuse Russia.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Moscow of trying to cover up the causes of the crash. The version that the plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defense was put forward, recalls AFP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin limited himself to vague apologies and admitted that air defense fire was opened on the day of the crash, the agency points out. However, he did not say that this led to the crash.