Azerbaijan orders closure of Russian cultural center amid plane crash dispute

Azerbaijan intensified its diplomatic standoff with Moscow on Thursday, ordering the closure of a Russian cultural center in Baku amid ongoing tensions over a fatal plane crash that killed 38 people in December.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizade announced that authorities had sent a diplomatic note to Russia demanding the shutdown of the Russian House cultural center, citing legal violations. The facility, operated by Russia’s federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo, had been operating without proper legal registration as a juridical entity in Azerbaijan, according to officials.

The move comes as Azerbaijan prepares to take legal action against Russia over the December 25 crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The state-affiliated APA news agency reported Wednesday that Baku is gathering “facts and evidence” to pursue the case in an international court.

Recent findings by Kazakh investigators revealed the aircraft sustained external damage, with multiple holes discovered in its fuselage, stabilizers, hydraulics, and trim systems. While the Kazakh report did not specify the cause of the damage, Western experts have suggested the plane was likely shot down by Russian air defenses.

Russia not claiming responsibility fuels the dispute

“We would have expected Russia to publicly take responsibility for shooting down the plane and compensate the victims,” said a source in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy establishment, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Instead, Russia just ignores the crash, hoping it would go away.”

The Kremlin’s response to the incident has strained previously warm relations between the two countries. While Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a rare apology for the “tragic incident,” Moscow has not accepted responsibility for the crash.

The diplomatic tension marks a significant shift in Azerbaijan’s stance toward Russia, traditionally a close regional ally. It comes at a time when Moscow’s influence in the former Soviet space is already diminishing, particularly following its invasion of Ukraine and the recent departure of Armenia from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Despite the escalating tensions, the two nations maintain significant economic ties, with Azerbaijan serving as a crucial transit hub for Russian goods seeking to bypass Western sanctions through routes to Iran and Persian Gulf ports.

The Kremlin has maintained that it is “too early to draw conclusions” about the crash, while Azerbaijani officials insist they will pursue further measures unless Moscow acknowledges responsibility for the incident.