Zakharova on Baku`s claims against  : This does not  reflect the level of our relations

ArmInfo. On February 6, at a briefing, the official representative of the Russian Foreign  Ministry, Maria Zakharova, addressed the claims made by Azerbaijani media regarding the alleged  espionage activities  of the <Russian House> in Baku.

In January, the Baku.tv TV channel aired a report about the cultural  center <Russian House> in Baku, which is supervised by  Rossotrudnichestvo. The head of the agency, Yevgeny Primakov, called  the report, in which the <Russian House> was accused of espionage  activities, false and vile in his Telegram channel.  He promised that  Rossotrudnichestvo would file a lawsuit to protect its business  reputation. Today Primakov reported on air at <Russia 24> that Baku  had sent Russia an official notification about the termination of the  activities of the <Rossotrudnichestvo> agency in the country.

According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign  Ministry, there have been  many inquiries on this matter from both  Russian and foreign media.  <Firstly, during the last briefing we  addressed the absurd accusations made against the Russian House in  Baku. We emphasized that we expect a refutation of the fakes from the  media that spread this false information. And I also have discussed  the situation in Rossotrudnichestvo, with the leadership of this  structure.  The second point, you know, I always say the same thing:  as soon as conversations and this spy mania begin, it always seems to  me that you need to ask everyone the same question: do you want to  talk about the activities of the special services seriously or do you  want to use this topic for cheap fakes? Seriously speaking, well,  those who start this topic can talk about where and how  representatives of their special services work. That's what I always  say. And here, of course, we understand that the topic was thrown in,  all this was promoted somehow. Somehow, of course, all this does not  reflect the level of our relations and the potential that we always  talk about. Well, in general, our attitude to this is obvious.

Regarding the third point about the Azerbaijani side sending a  notification about the termination of the activities of the Russian  House, I can confirm that we did receive it through diplomatic  channels.  In response, the Russian side expressed its readiness to  take the necessary actions to complete the registration of the  Russian House in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of  Azerbaijan, as outlined in the bilateral intergovernmental agreement  on the establishment and conditions of activity of information and  cultural centers dated 1997. It was concluded on July 3. I am sure  that our Azerbaijani colleagues also have these documents. We have  repeatedly proposed discussing this issue through diplomatic channels  and relevant consultations, with written proposals also sent to the  Azerbaijani side.  Therefore, we expect  this issue to be resolved  positively.  Well, to all the media outlets promoting this spy mania  story, well, please, don't give in to provocations.  After all, they  are adults. What are you talking about?>  Maria Zakharova noted.