The State Duma and Delyagin responds to Azerbaijan's arrest warrant for Mikhail Delyagin

First Lawmaker Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Alexey Chepa said that the Duma would respond to the proclamation of "A Just Russia — For Truth" deputy Mikhail Delyagin, who is wanted by Azerbaijan.

"This is a jittery, incorrect action. We will reply to such claims, and we will attempt to take actions to reassure our workers right now. This, I believe, is our Azerbaijani allies' approach toward criticism," Chepa said.

The Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office had previously announced the opening of a criminal prosecution against Delyagin for calling for the destruction of the country's energy infrastructure and oil sector, as well as the decision to place him on Interpol's worldwide wanted list.

Russian State Duma deputy Mikhail Delyagin declared on his "Telegram" page that he has not advocated for attacking Azerbaijan.

"I have not asked for the use of conventional or nuclear weapons to attack Azerbaijan," he stated.

He believes the report about his being proclaimed internationally sought by Azerbaijan's Prosecutor General's Office is "either bogus or a journalistic error."

"Otherwise, we must accept that there is no one remaining in the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office who speaks Russian or can utilise a translator. If this information is correct, it is really unfortunate, since individuals whose legal system has nothing to do with reality are anticipating some very intriguing discoveries, which will not always be pleasant," he stated.

Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Committee on Economic Policy, MP Mikhail Delyagin, threatened Azerbaijan on the state channel Rossiya1. Delyagin said that “the Azerbaijanis really violated the agreement. Our people said that they withdrew after the talks. They officially stated that they did not leave the occupied territories. This aggression of America's partners, in this case Turkey and Turkey's puppets, which we call the state, is a real threat today. Why do we need Azerbaijan's oil industry?! A simple question. We do not need him. He is defenceless. If these people do not understand in words, then they will have to understand in deeds. If we don't, there will be nothing left for us to do.”

On his telegram channel “DELYAGIN's special” the politician published a poll which asked, “do you consider it justified to use tactical nuclear weapons to eliminate the oil industry of Azerbaijan in connection with its aggression caused by the belief in the impotence of Russia, whose military resources are diverted to Ukraine?”

A few hours later, the Delyagin released a video apologising to the Azerbaijani people. Russia's governmental officials condemned Delyagin’s threats against Azerbaijan.

Ambassador of Russia to Azerbaijan and Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly on support for Azerbaijan and Armenia to start peace talks and Delyagin

"Favourable conditions should be created for peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Ambassador of Russia in Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov said. They noted that Russia is always ready to support Azerbaijan and Armenia to start peace talks. “The statement of member of the Russian State Duma is unacceptable,” said Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov. According to him, the Russian government condemned the deputy’s statement and apologised. The ambassador stressed that Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan are perfect.

Russia hopes that the current situation around Nagorno-Karabakh will end with a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko said. “We hope that this situation will end with a peace treaty, we sincerely want this,” she said while commenting on the statements of Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova about the possible peace agreement.

The Azerbaijani Press Council issued a statement in response to Russia's shutdown of various Azerbaijani websites

Azerbaijan's Press Council has published a statement in response to Russia's shutdown of several Azerbaijani news websites. According to the statement, "a number of Azerbaijani news websites are prohibited in Russia. The reason is that Russia is dissatisfied with Azerbaijani media reporting on Ukraine and their objective stance in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Oxu.az has been blacklisted in Russia, after the websites Haqqin.az and Minval.az."

Russia, according to the message, disregards freedom of speech and expression as well as pluralism. This attitude to international standards and conventions, as well as universal human values, is incorrect.

"This method restricts Russian society's ability to obtain objective information and hear opposing viewpoints," the statement stated. "Russia's attitude toward the Azerbaijani media is disrespectful to the two countries' ties, as well as the historically established traditions of friendliness and collaboration between the Russian and Azerbaijani peoples, as well as information sharing."

Azerbaijan's Press Council, speaking to the Russian media community and progressive organisations, urged for an objective assessment of blocked news sites. According to the message, Azerbaijan's Press Council thinks that Russian society will react appropriately to this scenario and will not question the positive dynamics of Azerbaijan-Russian ties, as well as tendencies that are counter to good neighbourly norms.