Azerbaijan summoned the Russian Ambassador to Baku, Mikhail Yevdokimov, on 18 August over a series of statements in the Russian media and information space that Baku described as provocative, insulting, and threatening toward Azerbaijan, its people, and political leadership. Consequently, the Foreign Ministry conveyed a formal protest and called for measures to cease such rhetoric.

The Azerbaijani side cited several broadcasts and publications from August. These included a programme aired on 13 August under the “Chistota Ponimania” project, remarks on Sputnik radio on 7 August concerning the possible inclusion of Azerbaijani leaders on Russia's list of terrorists and extremists, material published on YouTube on 9 August and the Spas television channel on 16 August. Baku noted the material included discussion of interference in Azerbaijan's internal political affairs and calls for physical violence against the country's leadership and population.

The Foreign Ministry stated that Azerbaijan had already raised similar issues with Russian officials at various political levels, but the rhetoric had continued to grow harsher. It called for "urgent and effective measures" to stop statements involving threats, violence and interference in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs.

The diplomatic dispute is part of a wider deterioration in Azerbaijani-Russian relations, with disagreements increasingly involving media figures, law-enforcement measures and the Azerbaijani community in Russia. Azerbaijan has separately launched criminal proceedings against Russian television presenter Ivan Knyazev, political consultant Semyon Uralov and journalist Alexei Chadayev over broadcasts that Azerbaijani authorities said contained calls against the country's constitutional order and territorial integrity. The three men have rejected the accusations.

The treatment of Azerbaijanis in Russia has also become a sensitive issue between Baku and Moscow. Several Azerbaijani diaspora figures have faced detention, expulsion or citizenship-related measures since 2025. Bakhtiyar Hasanov, chairman of the Azerbaijani National-Cultural Autonomy in Moscow, was deported to Azerbaijan after being detained in Russia earlier this year.

Baku's position on Russia's war against Ukraine has become another point of disagreement. On 6 August, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov visited Kyiv, where Azerbaijan reaffirmed its support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and the two sides discussed possible Azerbaijani gas supplies to Ukraine.

In spite of the political tensions, Azerbaijan and Russia continue to cooperate in trade, transport, logistics, and several key regional strategic areas, leaving bilateral relations relatively cold while maintaining practical channels of cooperation.