Russia’s foreign ministry has summoned Azerbaijan’s ambassador to protest what it describes as "unfriendly actions by Azerbaijan and illegal arrests of Russian journalists", RIA Novosti reports.

Envoy summoned over “unfriendly actions by Azerbaijan and illegal detentions of Russian journalists, whom Azerbaijani authorities had no issue with for years,” the ministry announced.

Earlier, Azerbaijani security forces conducted an operation at the Sputnik bureau, detaining two staff members on accusations of being agents of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

These actions followed the cancellation of a visit by Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis delegation to Moscow and the scrapping of all Russia‑participated cultural events. Azerbaijani media explained the cancellations were in response to “demonstrative, premeditated killings and violence against Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg by Russian law enforcement bodies”.