Azerbaijan summons Russian ambassador amid media reports on Aktau plane crash

Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Yevdokimov has been invited to the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan amid Russian media reports on the crash of an Azerbajani plane near the Kazakh city of Aktau, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s press service said.

According to the statement, Baku considered a number of media reports to be "based on disinformation."

"It was noted that the results of the preliminary investigation into the tragic crash of the ‘Azerbaijan Airlines’ plane are known, work is being carried out to finalize the investigation," the statement says.

Regarding Azerbaijani media reports about the Russian House in Baku, "it was stated that this is not an official position, that the activities of such organizations on the territory of our country are based on the principle of reciprocity and that it is important to conduct them in accordance with the requirements of the legislation."

Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Azerbaijani Ambassador to Moscow Rakhman Mustafayev discussed the air crash near Aktau and stressed that it is necessary to complete the official probe and announce its results, the Russian foreign ministry said. During the meeting, the Russian side expressed bewilderment about recent ant-Russian publications in the Azerbaijani media and "the disinformation campaign against the Russia House in Baku," the ministry noted. "The Russian side pointed that any accusations are absolutely groundless."