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Russian MFA summons Azerbaijani ambassador over illegal detention of Russian journalists

According to Maria Zakharova, Russian diplomats are not allowed to see the reporters, and haven’t been provided a reason for the denial of access

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Azerbaijani ambassador in connection with Baku's unfriendly actions, including an illegal detention of Russian journalists.

"In connection with unfriendly actions of Baku and an illegal detention of Russian journalists, about whom the Azerbaijani authorities had no complaints for years, the ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry," it said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS earlier that diplomats in Baku had been unable to contact the Russian reporters for several hours. According to the spokeswoman, Russian diplomats are not allowed to see the reporters, and haven’t been provided a reason for the denial of access.

Russian reporters

Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry announced earlier that law enforcement staff had conducted an operation in the office of Russia’s Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency. RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said that the agency's employees have been unreachable after that announcement.

Sputnik said they had not received any formal ban preventing them from working in Azerbaijan. A dialogue was underway between working groups to settle possible disagreements, it said.

Tags

Foreign policy Azerbaijan

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