Azerbaijan intends to continue developing relations with Russia, despite the deteriorating media narrative surrounding Baku in Russian outlets. Rahman Mustafayev, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia, stated this in an interview with RTVI.

According to the diplomat, Baku remains interested in maintaining a relationship with Moscow based on strategic partnership and an alliance. Mustafayev noted that this course was reaffirmed during telephone conversations between the two countries' presidents on March 11 and July 28.

He stated that relations between Azerbaijan and Russia currently maintain "generally positive momentum." Specifically, the ambassador pointed to increased contact between the two countries' governments, ministries, and agencies, as well as the development of interregional cooperation.

However, Mustafayev believes that further rapprochement is hindered by how Azerbaijan is portrayed in the Russian media landscape. He stated that "developing an alliance-based partnership and implementing the provisions of the Declaration of February 22, 2022—which forms the foundation of our relations—is difficult given the extremely negative media narrative regarding Azerbaijan that is being deliberately created by certain Russian experts, bloggers, and journalists on social media and in news outlets."

The diplomat also offered his own assessment of the scale of this campaign. He noted that "today, at least 96 Russian news portals, Telegram and YouTube channels, and other media outlets with audiences numbering in the millions are—with varying frequency—promoting the narrative that Azerbaijan is a state 'unfriendly' to Russia, and this figure is growing daily."

Mustafayev added that Baku has already raised this issue with the Russian side through diplomatic channels. He stated that Azerbaijan had pointed out specific instances of offensive and provocative remarks directed at the country, its citizens, and its leadership. "We consider this situation absolutely abnormal and unacceptable, and we expect a principled reaction and concrete actions from Moscow to rectify it," the ambassador stated.