Moscow, if necessary, will ensure the protection of the interests of Russian journalists put on the international wanted list by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"If necessary, we will provide our citizens with the protection of their legitimate rights and interests in the context of the decision taken by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan to put them on the international wanted list," Zakharova said in a comment on the Foreign Ministry's website.
She pointed out that "narratives unfriendly to Russia are constantly present in the information field of Azerbaijan." According to the diplomat, Moscow "has repeatedly suggested to our Azerbaijani colleagues in a calm manner, without politicization and media promotion, to discuss the issues of improving the information background during profile consultations."
"We hope that such a dialogue will take place," she said.
The statements of Russian journalists put on the wanted list by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan on charges of calling for the violent overthrow of the constitutional order of the republic do not reflect the approaches of the Russian Federation to relations with Baku, Zakharova stressed.
On August 17, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan put three Russian citizens on the international wanted list for "calls to terrorism" — these are the presenter of the Moscow 24 TV channel, journalist Ivan Knyazev, media expert Semyon Uralov, adviser to the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Alexei Chadaev.
According to the statement of the ministry, a preliminary investigation is underway in a criminal case initiated on "the facts of public calls for forcible change of the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan, violation of its territorial integrity, incitement of national hatred and enmity, as well as public calls for terrorism."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Evdokimov in connection with statements in the Russian information space that aroused Baku's dissatisfaction. The position of Baku in connection with the statements that the Azerbaijani side regarded as "provocative, insulting and containing threats" was brought to the attention of the Russian side.
After the decision of the prosecutor's office, Azerbaijani television published a press release stating that from that moment on it "does not consider itself bound by the previous red lines and unilateral observance of ethical restrictions both in relation to the Russian leadership and in covering what is happening in Russia as a whole."
The day before, it was reported that the head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Moscow, Bakhtiyar Hasanov, was deprived of Russian citizenship and deported to Azerbaijan. It is associated with the cover of illegal migration and participation in schemes for the sale of counterfeit products.
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