After Vladimir Solovyov, one of the Kremlin's prominent propagandists, invited the de-facto Foreign Minister of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh David Babayan to his TV show, calls are being made to the government in Azerbaijan to close access to Russian state television. The separatist Karabakh official appeared on the Solovyov Live show on June 28, after which Solovyov apologized to Azerbaijan.
"Respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries is one of Russia's foreign policy priorities. I personally fully agree with this priority. What happened in my program yesterday morning that was considered unacceptable by Baku? I apologize to Azerbaijan for this. It was the result of my political mistake. We are living in difficult times. Mistakes happen," Vladimir Solovyov said on his political talk show after a harsh response from the Azerbaijani community and media.
Azerbaijan's pro-government media, recalling the information security clause specified in the alliance agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan, assessed the materials in the Russian media as separatist propaganda and questioned cooperation.
Solovyov also said he should have invited the representative of Azerbaijan to maintain the balance.
Earlier, in March, Caucasus Watch reported that Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Committee on Economic Policy, MP Mikhail Delyagin, threatened Azerbaijan on the state channel Rossiya1. Delyagin said: "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 it. It is defenseless. If these people do not understand words, they will have to understand deeds. If they don't, we will be left with no choice."
A few hours later, the Delyagin released a video apologizing to the Azerbaijani people. Russia's governmental officials condemned Delyagin's threats against Azerbaijan.
