Authorities in Azerbaijan have released Igor Kartavykh, the executive director of Sputnik Azerbaijan, from prison and placed him under house arrest. The move followed high-level discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to reports by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, citing the Kremlin.
Kartavykh was detained in June along with several colleagues amid growing diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku. Sources within the Azerbaijani government confirmed the journalist’s release, although it remains unclear whether he will still face prosecution.
The situation escalated earlier this year when Azerbaijan launched an investigation into Sputnik Azerbaijan, ordering Rossiya Segodnya—the Russian state media company that operates the outlet—to close its offices in the South Caucasus nation.
In a reported exchange, an unnamed Azerbaijani national held in Russian custody was released in return for Kartavykh’s freedom. The development came just before the Putin-Aliyev meeting held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Thursday.
During that meeting, President Putin acknowledged for the first time that Russian air defences accidentally shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane in December last year—a tragic incident that killed at least 38 people. He also pledged compensation to the victims’ families.
The downing of the aircraft strained diplomatic ties between the two nations, already burdened by mutual arrests of journalists and citizens. The Russian detainment of several ethnic Azerbaijanis, linked to historic unsolved crimes, further deepened tensions when two of the suspects reportedly died in police custody.
This recent release may signal the first steps toward easing strained relations and rebuilding trust between Russia and Azerbaijan, two nations whose intertwined history continues to shape the balance of power in the region. It’s a reminder that diplomacy is not just about governments—it’s about people, lives, and the hope for stability in a region that has seen too much unrest.
