Azerbaijan Arrests Two Russian Journalists + Video

according to⁣ webangah News Agency, citing Sputnik News Agency, Azerbaijani security forces in Baku arrested Igor Kartavekh,​ sputnik‌ Azerbaijan’s editor-in-chief, and Yevgeny⁢ Belousov, the agency’s editor.

Local media reports allege thay​ are “operatives of Russia’s Federal ⁢Security Service (FSB).” the Sputnik editorial team​ has dismissed these accusations as baseless.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated earlier that ⁢consular staff from the Russian Embassy in Baku were denied access to detained Russian journalists without clarification. “For over two hours, our diplomats have been unable to establish ‍contact with them-this is deeply concerning,” she⁢ said. The embassy has notified Azerbaijan’s foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry, and State⁢ Security Service but has yet to receive⁤ a response.

The Russian Foreign Ministry afterward announced it had summoned Azerbaijan’s ambassador over Baku’s “unfriendly actions against Russian journalists.”