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, BTA reported.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykan Hajizada said that a diplomatic note was sent to Russia on February 3, notifying that the activities of the “Russian House“ in the capital of the Caucasian country were being terminated. He added that the center, whose purpose was to teach Russian language and culture, “was not registered as a legal entity“, and the organization had “seriously violated Azerbaijani legislation“.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow expects the issue to be “resolved positively” and Russia is ready to register the center in accordance with Azerbaijani law. 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 notes.
The circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear, as the plane was diverted to Kazakhstan after failing to land in the capital of the Russian autonomous republic of Chechnya, Grozny. There, missile 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 has accused Moscow of trying to cover up the causes of the crash. The version that the plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defenses was put forward, AFP recalls.
Russian President Vladimir Putin limited himself to vague apologies and admitted that air defenses opened fire on the day of the crash, the agency said. However, he did not say that this led to the crash.