Adviser to Russian Transport Minister Quits After Azerbaijan Issues Arrest Warrant
Azerbaijan has issued arrest warrants for three Russian commentators over remarks made on YouTube livestreams, prompting one of them, a transportation ministry adviser, to resign.
Prosecutors in Azerbaijan announced Monday that they had charged and issued arrest warrants for journalist and Russian transportation ministry adviser Alexei Chadayev, political commentator Semyon Uralov, and Moscow 24 news presenter Ivan Knyazev.
The three are accused of calling for the violent overthrow of Azerbaijan's government, inciting ethnic hatred, and publicly calling for terrorism. The charges relate to comments allegedly made during July and August livestreams on the YouTube channel "Chistota Ponimaniya." The July livestream in question has since been removed, leaving unclear exactly which remarks prompted the charges. The channel said it was taking a break following the allegations.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's ambassador to Baku on Tuesday, expressing serious concern and firm protest over what it called provocative, insulting and threatening statements against Azerbaijan in Russian media, and demanding urgent measures to stop such rhetoric.
Following the charges, Chadayev announced Tuesday he would resign from his post at Russia's Transportation Ministry, writing on Telegram that personal opinions or public statements should not be allowed to affect interstate relations or hinder joint government work.
Russia's Foreign Ministry sought to distance itself from the commentators' views, saying they do not reflect Moscow's position toward Azerbaijan. However, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the government stands ready to provide legal defense for the accused, while also alleging that hostile narratives toward Russia regularly appear in Azerbaijani media.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since December 2024, when a Russian missile accidentally downed an Azerbaijani passenger plane, killing 38 people. Although Russia acknowledged responsibility, tensions have continued, including reciprocal arrests of each other's citizens. Earlier this week, Russian authorities deported the head of an Azerbaijani diaspora organization in Moscow who had been stripped of his Russian citizenship last year.
