Latest news with #RussianCitizens
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Baku blocking consular access to jailed Russians
Azerbaijan has not granted the Russian citizens recently arrested in Baku access to consular services, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. A Baku court jailed at least ten Russian nationals on Tuesday for four months pending trial. Two senior journalists from the Sputnik Azerbaijan news agency, as well as at least eight other Russians, have been behind bars in the country since Monday. Moscow has slammed the arrests as 'unlawful,' and has demanded the Russians' immediate release. 'We have requested that employees of the embassy's consular department be allowed to visit the Russian citizens,' but access has so far 'not been granted,' Zakharova said in a press briefing on Wednesday. She demanded that 'those who want to spoil bilateral relations' cease attempts to further escalate the situation. A number of Azerbaijani news outlets have been spreading 'fake news,' she added. 'These steps cause serious damage to interstate relations,' the spokeswoman said. Earlier Azerbaijani reports about the possible closure of Russian-language schools in the country had been denied by Baku's Education Ministry, Zakharova added. Bilateral relations between Moscow and Baku have been strained as of late. The diplomatic downturn was sparked by a police raid in Russia's Yekaterinburg last week, which targeted an alleged ethnic crime ring composed of Russian nationals of Azerbaijani origin. It was part of an investigation into a series of murders dating back as far as 2001. Two elderly suspects died during the operation, at least one of whom suffered heart failure, according to preliminary information. The incident spurred outrage in Azerbaijani media and among local officials, who have accused Moscow of ethnic bias. Five of the six men arrested have been charged, after one turned state's evidence, Russian authorities reported on Wednesday. Top law enforcement officials from both sides are in direct discussions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing on Wednesday. When asked to comment on recent video reports that appeared to show bruises and traces of blood on a number of the Russian nationals detained in Azerbaijan, Peskov noted that Moscow had seen the footage and 'noted every detail.' Russia will 'defend the legitimate interests' of its citizens, and will 'use all available means' to that end, he said. The Russian embassy in Baku has confirmed that Russians in Azerbaijan have increasingly complained that they and their families have been subjected to violence.
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Lithuania says Moscow behind defacing of anti-Soviet monument
Lithuanian prosecutors said on Wednesday Russia's GRU military intelligence service had ordered the defacement of a monument to an anti-Soviet resistance leader in January 2024. Three residents of Estonia have been charged with travelling to fellow Baltic state Lithuania to carry out the act, prosecutor Rimas Bradunas told a press conference. The statue in southern Lithuanian town Merkine of Adolfas Ramanauskas, kneeling with his rifle in hand, was covered in red paint. Ramanauskas led armed resistance to the Soviet occupation of Lithuania after World War II before being executed in 1957. "Our investigation determined that these people, acting in an organised group, were executing the orders of Russian special services, in particular GRU, to destabilise the country," Bradunas said. Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Two of the three charged are dual Estonian-Russian citizens, while one is a Russian citizen. They were arrested in Estonia and handed over to Lithuania after an investigation involving the intelligence services of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the prosecutor said. The three, who are construction workers, were paid from a few hundred euros to a few thousand euros for their job, which lasted several months and included a survey of potential defacement targets, said Bradunas. They face up to seven years in jail if convicted on the charges, which include assisting another state to act against the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuanian prosecutors charged two people in March with attempting to start a fire at Vilnius IKEA store in May 2024, and accused Russia's military intelligence of orchestrating it. Russia dismissed the accusations as baseless and driven by what it describes as Russophobia. It has denied allegations by all three Baltic states, annexed by Moscow during World War II but now part of Nato and the European Union, of cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and military pressure, especially since Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022.
Russia Today
02-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU state bars Russian property owners
Latvia has prohibited entry for Russian citizens who own real estate near strategically important sites in the country, citing national security concerns, local broadcaster TV3 reported on Monday. According to a statement from the Latvian State Security Service (VDD) cited in the report, a series of agency probes has identified risks emanating from Russian-owned properties near critical infrastructure. As a result, 'in several cases,' Russian property owners have been blacklisted and prohibited from entering Latvia. Latvian authorities are trying to limit purported Russian influence within its borders. A former Soviet republic, like Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania, it has adopted an increasingly hardline stance against Moscow since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. Riga announced sweeping travel restrictions for Russian nationals, barred Russian-registered vehicles from entering the country, and introduced a mandatory Latvian language test for Russians, deporting thousands of those who refused to take it or failed. Riga has also moved to ban Russians from owning property. A bill presently before parliament aims to prohibit citizens of Russia and Belarus, as well as companies linked to them, from acquiring real estate in Latvia, citing potential threats to national security and circumvention of Western sanctions. Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis has cited 'a hybrid war' with Russia, and urged EU members prohibit the issuance of Schengen tourist visas to Russian nationals, alleging risks of sabotage. The three Baltic states, all NATO members bordering Russia, have also warned of potential invasion once the Ukraine conflict ends. Russia has repeatedly dismissed the warnings as 'nonsense' meant to scare the European population and justify increases in military spending. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently accused the Latvian authorities of 'blatant discrimination against Russians,' saying many of their policies were openly Russophobic. She said Russophobia had 'reached a new high' in the Baltics in recent years and warned that Latvia, in particular, would have to answer to the International Court of Justice if it continued with its discriminatory practices.
