Azerbaijan condemns Russia's propaganda against Aliyev and Baku

The Azerbaijani parliament has accused Russia of launching a large-scale information campaign aimed at discrediting Baku. The Milli Majlis Commission on Countering External Interference claims that the propaganda began after President Ilham Aliyev's interview with Al-Arabiya TV channel, during which his statements about the Zangezur Corridor were deliberately distorted by Russian media, social networks and bloggers.

Baku is confident that such actions are aimed at creating a negative image of the country in Russian society, but do not influence public opinion within Azerbaijan.

"Such disgusting campaigns do not have any impact on public opinion in Azerbaijan. Such actions are aimed solely at inciting hostility in Russian society and provoking unfounded enmity with neighboring states, based on false facts. The roots of the “Russophobia” syndrome that worries Russia should be sought in the activities of “Z” bloggers,” the statement notes.

Earlier, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered state media to launch a campaign to criticize the policies of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, which Moscow considers “anti-Russian.”

Recently, in an interview with Al Arabiya, Ilham Aliyev drew a parallel between the current conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Union in 1920, calling both events “a Russian invasion and occupation.”