Russia considers import ban on Azerbaijani goods over Ukraine aid

In the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, the prospect of tougher policies against Azerbaijan has been raised following reports that Baku is considering lifting its moratorium on arms supplies to Ukraine.

Andrey Gurulyov, a member of the Duma Committee on Regional Policy, stated that in response to Baku’s decision to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine, authorities could impose an embargo on the supply of Azerbaijani products to Russia.

“It is not wise to spoil relations with a major neighbor like Russia”

In a video statement, Gurulyov said, “It is not at all wise to spoil relations with a major neighbor like Russia. If there are no products from Azerbaijan on Russian shelves, nothing will change for us, but a lot will change for them.”

Gurulyov also implied that Russian security forces could target representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora doing business within the country.

The lawmaker stated, “There are other ways. The special military operation is an expandable concept. It can be expanded along the entire border of the Russian Federation.”

These words from Gurulyov echoed the statements of Vladimir Solovyov, who had previously said, in the context of escalating tensions with Baku, that the military intervention in Ukraine “may not be the country’s last special military operation.”

Aliyev’s decision for $2 million in aid to Ukraine

On August 10, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree allocating $2 million from a reserve fund for the purchase of electrical equipment produced in Azerbaijan for Ukraine “for the purpose of providing humanitarian aid.”

Previously, the publication Caliber, citing its sources, reported that Baku could lift its ban on arms supplies to Ukraine in response to Russia’s attack on facilities belonging to the Azerbaijani state company SOCAR in the Odessa oblast on the night of August 7-8.

The report stated that this decision would be made if Moscow continues its “aggressive policy” against Baku’s interests.

In July, when asked for his advice to Ukraine, Aliyev compared Russia’s intervention to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, urging Kyiv to “never accept the occupation.”

In response to this statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow did not agree with Azerbaijan’s position but hoped that the disagreements between the two countries would be resolved.