Azerbaijan has never been friendly country toward Russia – Bogdan Bezpalko

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko commented on official Baku’s statements following the fall of debris from a Ukrainian air defense system on the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv, and also assessed the state of Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

“Azerbaijan has never been a friendly country toward Russia. Our relations with them have been strictly bilateral. Azerbaijan is not a member of the CSTO, the EAEU, the Union State—none of them. We engaged in trade, we preferred good-neighborly relations, but now they have become strained to the point where they can be called hostile. At the same time, I wouldn’t attach too much importance to the statements regarding the missile that damaged or hit near the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv. If Russia had intended to strike the Azerbaijani embassy, I assure you, not one but several missiles would have hit it, and that would have been a clear demonstration of some kind of intent,” the political scientist said.

According to Bezpalko, the Azerbaijani side used the incident as a pretext to slam the Russian side, even though the damage to the embassy itself was minimal.

“Summoning the ambassador and handing him a note is a routine procedure in international relations and for any foreign ministry. They are obliged to respond this way. I would attach much greater importance to the fact that Russian citizens are still in custody in Azerbaijan, and their detention has been extended. I would be more concerned about these citizens, their health, their nutrition, and whether our diplomats are visiting them. As for the anti-aircraft missile—most likely a Ukrainian Patriot—that fell near or even on the embassy, yes, Azerbaijan used this as a pretext to issue a note and create a minor escalation in formal relations. In today’s turbulent world, this doesn’t seem unusual. No one was killed, and there was no significant material damage. Well, maybe two cars burned, but most likely those two cars were insured,” the expert concluded.