Azerbaijan has never been Russia’s strategic partner — Konstantin Zatulin

Azerbaijan has never been a strategic partner of Russia, says Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs. He shared his views on Russian-Azerbaijani relations in an interview with Lenta. ru.

Earlier it was reported that the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan had canceled all cultural events by public and private institutions of Russia. The reason for such measures were the actions of Russian law enforcement officers against Azerbaijanis in the Sverdlovsk region.

Zatulin noted that Azerbaijan is not a member of the Eurasian Economic Union or the Collective Security Treaty, whose members are typically considered strategic partners. At the same time, such membership does not protect it from pursuing an openly anti-Russian course, he said. In addition, Zatulin pointed out that after Karabakh was cleansed of the Armenian population, Azerbaijan stopped taking into account Russia’s reaction.