On October 24, Azerbaijani State Television's weekly program "Hafta" was heavily critical of Russia. Rovshan Mammadov, chairman of Azerbaijan State Television and program host, decided to respond to the "propaganda of some Russian presenters and broadcasters" against Azerbaijan.

"Considering the fact that [state] media perform their task of propaganda of the state policy, the broadcast of the talk show of the Russian First Channel, which is openly provocative and insulting to our country, is not an ordinary program, but it reflects the opinions and tasks of the official circles [of Russia]. If this is so, then let's start. The war waged by Russia on the territory of Ukraine is aggression and a clear threat to the territorial integrity of another sovereign country. Therefore, the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia to the territory of Russia is a gross violation of the norms and principles of international law, a fact of occupation," he said.

"Apparently, Russia and our colleagues wanted to hear these words from us. So here it goes. Today's bombardment by Russia of Ukrainian territories inhabited by peaceful Ukrainian citizens is a violation of the law of war, a crime against humanity," Mammadov said.

It should be noted that a few days ago separatist Nagorno-Karabakh was presented as "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" in a broadcast on the Russian public television channel.

Azerbaijan sends protest note to Russia

On October 24, Azerbaijan sent a protest note to Russia, according to Azerbaijan's embassy in Russia. 

According to the information, this was related to questioning the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the distortion of the state map in the program "The Great Game," which was broadcast on Russian public broadcaster First Channel on October 20 and 21. 

The statement said that allowing political provocations on the public television channel contradicts Russia's official position, which the Russian president has made clear on several occasions, expressing support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. "This also undermines the steps taken to ensure long-term peace, stability, and security in the region," it said.

The embassy stressed that the "Declaration on Mutual Alliance Activities" signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation on February 22, 2022, provides for joint efforts in the fight against separatism.