Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that the Azerbaijani authorities have closed the Russian House cultural center in Baku. “We are sorry in this regard. We believe it's a misunderstanding that will be resolved through bilateral contacts,” RIA Novosti quotes Peskov as saying.
Peskov promised that the issue would be discussed at various levels. “We do not rule out that this matter may also be raised in a dialog between the two heads of state,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
The closure of the Russian House, a cultural center supervised by Russia's “soft power” agency Rossotrudnichestvo, was reported on yesterday by the Azerbaijani publication Report. The decision of the authorities was motivated by the fact that Azerbaijan does not need external assistance, “especially if provided through non-transparent schemes and organizations whose structure suggests an intelligence profile.” Later, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizadeh said that Baku had sent a note to the Russian authorities on Feb. 3 announcing the cessation of activities of the Russian House. According to him, the cultural center violated Azerbaijani laws because it was not registered as a legal entity.As Rossotrudnichestvo head Yevgeny Primakov — the namesake of his late grandfather — told Radio Sputnik: “The situation for our work there is unbearable. Azerbaijani media are comparing us to USAID.”
Relations between Moscow and Baku began to deteriorate after the Dec. 25 crash of Azerbaijani Airlines Flight 8243, which was en route from Baku to Grozny when it was struck by a Russian air defense missile. The plane was redirected across the Caspian Sea but crashed while attempting to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 28 of the 67 people on board. Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev blamed Russia for the tragedy and demanded punishment for those responsible.