Sputnik Azerbaijan\u2019s editor-in-chief has been released from custody and flown to Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said<\/p>\n
A Russian journalist detained in Azerbaijan earlier this year has been released and is returning home, Russia\u2019s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
\nMaria Zakharova, the ministry\u2019s spokeswoman, confirmed that Igor Kartavykh\u00a0\u2013 editor-in-chief of Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency\u00a0\u2013 boarded a flight to Moscow after being cleared to leave the country.
\nKartavykh was detained in June following a police raid on Sputnik\u2019s Baku office.
\nAzerbaijani authorities charged him with fraud and illegal business activity, accusations the media outlet called \u201cabsurd.\u201d\u00a0
\nZakharova said Russian diplomats had maintained contact with officials in Baku throughout the case and that Kartavykh had been placed under house arrest before his release.
\n\u201cKartavykh has been released from custody and has flown to Russia,\u201d Zakharova told TASS on Sunday.
\nKartavykh confirmed that he had landed in Moscow, telling RIA Novosti: \u201cI feel fine\u00a0\u2013 I\u2019m glad to be back home.\u201d
\nRelations between Russia and Azerbaijan deteriorated after an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crashed on December 25, 2024, near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing all 38 people on board.\u00a0The aircraft had been damaged during its approach to the Russian city of Grozny amid Ukrainian drone activity.
\nFurther escalation followed a Russian law enforcement raid in Ekaterinburg earlier this year that led to the deaths of two Azerbaijani nationals identified as suspected gang members.
\nKremlin foreign-policy aide Yury Ushakov said the decision to free Kartavykh was made ahead of meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe earlier in October. He added that the development was part of a reciprocal arrangement, under which Mammadali Agayev, an Azerbaijani national detained in Moscow on embezzlement charges, was also released.\u00a0
\nDuring his meeting with Aliyev, Putin commented on the tragedy, stating that the crash was most likely triggered when a Russian missile self-destructed near the aircraft during an air-defense response to a Ukrainian attack. He promised appropriate compensation for the victims and accountability for any misconduct.
\nThe two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to trade, humanitarian, and regional cooperation, pledging to continue dialogue \u201cin the spirit of partnership and alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sputnik Azerbaijan\u2019s editor-in-chief has been released from custody and flown to Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said A Russian journalist detained in Azerbaijan earlier this year has been released…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20721,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t