MOSCOW (Realist English). Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated: the topic of the 11 Russians detained in Azerbaijan in 2025 was not raised at the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the CIS summit. However, Moscow continues contacts with Baku and hopes for a speedy resolution of the issue. Baku, in turn, is not demonstrating readiness for concessions.
What Peskov said
At a briefing on October 12, the Kremlin representative stated: the leaders of the two countries did not discuss the fate of the detainees at the highest level. “This topic was not discussed at the highest level,” Peskov said.
At the same time, he emphasized: work on the release of the Russians has not stopped. “But we are in contact with our Azerbaijani friends, including on this issue.” Peskov added: “We sincerely hope that this problem too will be resolved shortly.”
Who exactly is detained
This concerns 11 Russian citizens detained in Azerbaijan in late June 2025. This occurred against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations. The trigger for the crisis was the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane near Aktau in December 2024. Moscow did not acknowledge responsibility for a long time. Then followed harsh detentions of representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia. Two of them died.
Among those detained in Baku are IT specialists, entrepreneurs, and tourists. They were accused of illegal drug trafficking and cyber fraud. According to media reports, the detainees were not connected to each other and were in Azerbaijan for different purposes.
Sentences and current status
Some of the detainees have already received real sentences. In June 2026, a court in Azerbaijan sentenced eight Russians to terms ranging from three to four years in prison. They were found guilty in the “drug smuggling” case. Three others — Alexander Vaysero, Igor Zabolotsky, and Ilnur Valitov — received three to four years for cyber fraud and money laundering.
As of April 2026, the Russians were still being held in a pretrial detention center in Baku. Baku is in no hurry to release them, despite assurances of “friendship.”
Parallel case
Separately, in August, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan placed three Russian citizens on the international wanted list. They are journalist Ivan Knyazev, political scientist Semyon Uralov, and adviser to the Russian Minister of Transport Alexei Chadayev. They were accused of public calls for terrorism and violent change of Azerbaijan’s constitutional order. The basis was statements made in a YouTube program.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated: the statements of these individuals “do not reflect Moscow’s approaches to Azerbaijan.” But it promised to ensure the protection of their rights if necessary. Baku, in turn, continues to demonstrate harshness.
Bilateral background
The crisis in relations began after the crash of the AZAL plane. Moscow did not acknowledge responsibility for a long time. In the summer of 2025, the crisis intensified with mutual detentions. Against this backdrop, Azerbaijan also closed the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency. Its employees were detained. Two of them were later released and returned to Russia. However, Baku is not demonstrating readiness for normalization.
