Russia says certain forces are out to wreck ties between it and Azerbaijan, RIA reports

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that certain forces were trying to wreck Moscow's ties with Azerbaijan and that they should think hard about what they were doing, the state RIA news agency reported. The statement came amid rising tensions between the two countries after two Russian state journalists were arrested in Baku and a further around 15 more Russians arrested separately on suspicion of drug trafficking and cybercrime.

The arrests followed Russian police raids against ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Russia suspected of involvement in serious crimes in which two men died. RIA cited the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying it regarded its relationship with Baku as extremely important and that it believed the arrest of the Russian journalists was not connected to their work but motivated by other considerations.

The pair have since been charged with fraud and other crimes by a Baku court.

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