Sabir Rustamkhanli: 'Russia's atrocities against Azerbaijanis have been observed throughout history'

The Russian FSB raid on Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg is a crime committed by the state, Chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party, People's Poet, Co-Chairman of the Congress of World Azerbaijanis, Sabir Rustamkhanli, said in an interview with Report.

He noted that this brutal attack was committed by bandit groups hiding behind the status of a state body: "Instead of punishing these people, Russian officials use meaningless formulations like 'investigation is underway.' This is barbarity committed by employees of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. If a person is guilty or has committed a crime, they must be punished in accordance with the law. No one is given the right to kill a person in front of their family. This has only one name - brutality."

According to Rustamkhanli, we have been witnessing similar actions by Russia throughout history: "Both in Tsarist Russia and in the USSR, there were such cases, mass murders. Intolerance, hatred of other nations, especially this purge, was carried out against the Turkic and Muslim peoples. No matter how they tried to hide it, it is impossible. And now, Azerbaijanis who received citizenship in Russia or were born there are being forcibly sent to war with Ukraine. People do not want to fight, but they are forced to. Russia and Ukraine are fraternal nations. After some time, they will make peace. Why involve Azerbaijanis in what is happening between these two states. Many Azerbaijanis are fighting on both sides of the war. Representatives of the Azerbaijani people are being pitted against each other. In general, such a policy of Russia should not surprise us. We witnessed it in 1990. The brutal actions of Soviet troops against the peaceful Azerbaijani population, who are citizens of the same USSR, are very indicative."

Rustamkhanli noted that the number of Russian schools and higher education institutions is increasing in Azerbaijan: "We need to urgently pay attention to this, the time has come to say no to this. We are not against learning another language. However, Azerbaijan is an independent state and should promote its language. Some forces in our country are trying to provoke pro-Russian sentiments."

He added that more than 3 million Azerbaijanis are in Russia: "We have always tried to maintain good relations with Russia. This has also been beneficial for the Azerbaijanis living there. But there is no such thing as one-sided friendship. We are trying in every way to maintain relations with Russia. But our passenger plane is shot down from that side, many civilians are killed. This issue has not yet been fully clarified. The ostentatious friendliness of the Russian Federation towards Azerbaijan runs counter to the shadow support of Armenia. Russia is ready to make any concessions to them. And when it comes to us, it continues its hostile policy. Officials are behind this. Migration in the world is a normal phenomenon. Many Azerbaijanis work in Europe, but such atrocities are not committed against them as in Russia. Without Turkic migrants from Central Asia, Russia's economy will collapse and it will face huge losses. Everyone knows and understands this. But they still cannot change their hostile attitude towards the Turkic peoples. I again condemn the criminal actions of the Russian side against Azerbaijanis, and I call for an objective assessment to be given to them as soon as possible. Those who committed this crime must be severely punished."