Source says Moscow plans to settle Russian House issue with Baku

Moscow still expects to settle the issue of the status of the Russian Information and Cultural Center (Russian House) in Baku. An informed source told Izvestia on February 7.

According to him, Moscow has repeatedly tried at different levels to settle the issue of the legal status of the Russian House, applying to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice for assistance in establishing a legal basis for solving this problem.

"The Russian side still expects to settle the issue of the status of the Russian House on the basis of the legislation of Azerbaijan and the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the establishment and conditions of activity of Information and Cultural Centers dated July 3, 1997. In accordance with article 18 of this agreement, disputes regarding its application should be resolved through negotiations," he said.

The source recalled that the final protocol of the 17th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan signed by the parties in 2018 recorded the readiness of the Azerbaijani side "to take the necessary measures" to register this Russian structure.

The issue was also repeatedly discussed during negotiations at different levels, but never moved from a "dead point" for all these years.

"Baku decided to make an absolutely far-fetched link between the current situation with the Russian House and the liquidation of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress (ARAC) in 2017 by the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia. The All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress (VAK), which was in operation from 2011 to 2017. The VAK neither by its status nor by the nature of its activities can be considered as an analog of the Russian House. This structure was a public organization established under Russian law. The reason for its closure was repeated violations of its own charter and the laws of our country, ignoring the warnings of the Ministry of Justice of Russia", - said the source.

In addition, the source called the unsubstantiated accusations in Azerbaijani media of involvement of the Russian House staff in espionage activities and inappropriate statements to the head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov the height of absurdity.

Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the closure of the Russian Information and Cultural Center in Baku a misunderstanding. He also expressed regret over it. In addition, Peskov did not rule out a solution to the situation at the level of heads of state.

The receipt of a note by the RussianFederation on the termination of the Russian House became known the day before. This was reported by the official representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Ayhan Hajizadeh. According to him, the message was sent after notification of the Russian side that the center allegedly has no registration as a legal entity.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, in turn, said that the Russian Federation is ready to resolve the issue related to the registration of the Russian House. According to her, the Russian side has repeatedly offered to discuss this issue through diplomatic channels in the framework of consultations. She specified that the proposals to Azerbaijan were also sent in writing.