Azerbaijan Releases Russian Journalist to House Arrest After Putin-Aliyev Meeting
Authorities in Azerbaijan have released Russian journalist Igor Kartavykh, the executive director of Sputnik Azerbaijan, from prison to house arrest following a crucial meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to a report by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.
Kartavykh was detained in June, along with several colleagues, amid growing diplomatic tensions between Moscow and Baku. Two Azerbaijani government officials confirmed his release to Reuters, though it remains unclear whether Kartavykh will continue to face prosecution.
The release comes in the wake of Azerbaijan’s investigation into Sputnik Azerbaijan. Authorities had earlier ordered the closure of its parent company, the Russian state-owned Rossiya Segodnya, within Azerbaijani territory.
According to Kommersant, the move appears to be part of a broader reciprocal arrangement, as an unnamed Azerbaijani national was reportedly released from Russian custody in exchange for Kartavykh’s transfer to house arrest.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated that the decision was finalized on the eve of Thursday’s meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where both leaders convened to address multiple points of friction between their nations.
During the meeting, President Putin also made a rare public acknowledgment that Russian air defences had accidentally downed an Azerbaijani passenger plane last December, a tragic incident that claimed at least 38 lives. He assured that Russia would provide full compensation to the affected families.
The plane crash had placed significant strain on Moscow-Baku relations, which worsened following the arrest of several Azerbaijani nationals in Russia over historic, unresolved criminal cases — two of whom reportedly died in police custody.
This diplomatic breakthrough — though modest — may signal the beginning of a cautious rebuilding of trust between the two nations, showing that behind every political headline lies the fragile thread of human consequence. Every act of release, every word of admission, and every gesture of reconciliation carries with it the silent hope of healing — not just between governments, but between people.