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Politics

Baku's wanted list reaches into a Moscow ministry

Aleksey Chadayev, an adviser to Russia's transport minister, announced his resignation late Tuesday after Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's Office charged him and 2 media figures over summer livestreams and put them on a wanted list. Russia's foreign ministry, for its part, has stepped back from the commentators: their views, it says, in no way reflect Moscow's position.

Baku's wanted list reaches into a Moscow ministry

The charges name 3 men: Chadayev, the political commentator Semyon Uralov, and Moscow 24 presenter Ivan Knyazev. The counts, per The Moscow Times: calls for the violent overthrow of the Azerbaijani government, incitement of ethnic hatred and public calls to terrorism, over July and August livestreams on the YouTube channel Chistota Ponimaniya.

“In no way reflect Moscow's position towards Azerbaijan.”

The channel is exhibit 1 in the diplomatic file. Its 13 August stream led the list of 3 broadcasts Baku's foreign ministry handed ambassador Yevdokimov on Tuesday, alongside a Sputnik radio piece of 7 August and a Spas TV programme of 16 August, with a demand for “urgent and effective measures.”

Chadayev announced the resignation on his Telegram channel, in the language of a man shielding his ministry: “I don't believe anyone's personal expert opinion or public statements should impact interstate relations or create obstacles for joint government efforts,” in The Moscow Times' translation. The July livestream at issue has been taken off YouTube.

Moscow's public line runs in 2 registers. The foreign ministry says the commentators' views “in no way reflect Moscow's position towards Azerbaijan.” Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova offered all 3 legal assistance and noted that hostile narratives toward Russia run in Azerbaijani media too. Distance and defense arrive from the same building; Baku gets to choose which half to hear.

Baku's Tuesday demand was for measures. It now has a resignation and a disclaimer to weigh. Nothing in the wires says the other 2 names on the list have moved.

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