Kremlin says Azerbaijan and Russia have entered ‘difficult period’ in bilateral ties

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Monday said Azerbaijan and Russia have entered a “difficult period” in bilateral ties.

“Sometimes, it happens that difficult periods occur in the relations of the two countries. Now is one of such periods,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.

"We hope that this period will pass," Peskov said, noting that "cooperation between the two countries brings mutual benefit.”

Last month, Azerbaijan, after the death of its citizens during a police raid in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, cancelled planned cultural events in Russia, saying the decision was made in response to the “targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence against Azerbaijanis based on their ethnicity.”

Peskov said investigations on the part of Moscow are continuing concerning the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash in Kazakhstan last December, which resulted in the death of 38 passengers on board.

He said it is Baku's right if it decides to file a lawsuit against Moscow on the issue in international courts, and that Russia “will wait for official verdicts.”

The spokesman said a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Beijing during events scheduled in September to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II “cannot be ruled out.”