Azerbaijan Issues Warning to Russian Media Over Disputed Use of Karabakh Capitals Name

On Friday, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a warning about potential action against Russian state media for using the Armenian name for the capital of the former breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aykhan Hajizada, a spokesperson for the ministry, condemned Russia’s TASS news agency for what he called “disrespectful and insulting” behavior, referring to the region’s capital as Stepanakert rather than its Azerbaijani name, Khankendi.

Following a military offensive in 2023, Azerbaijan regained complete control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to a mass exodus of its Armenian-majority residents.

Hajizada specifically pointed to a TASS report from Thursday regarding the removal of a statue of Ivan Aivazovsky, a famous Russian painter of Armenian descent. He argued that this monument had been “illegally” erected by Russian peacekeepers and represented “a clear indication of disrespect” towards Azerbaijan.

“We anticipate an apology and a suitable correction from TASS regarding this issue. If not, we will take appropriate actions under our legal framework concerning TASS’s operations within Azerbaijan,” Hajizada stated.

By Friday afternoon, TASS had replaced mentions of “Stepanakert” with “Nagorno-Karabakh” in the article, yet did not acknowledge the alteration.

As of now, Russian authorities have yet to respond to Baku’s remarks.

This warning occurs amidst escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, which intensified after two Azerbaijani citizens died during mass arrests in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in late June. Azerbaijani officials accused Russian law enforcement of abuse and homicide in this case.

In retaliation, Baku has canceled cultural events connected to Russia, conducted raids on the local office of the Kremlin-supported Sputnik news agency, and arrested several Russian citizens accused of involvement in organized crime.