On May 3, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill arrived in Baku. Here he met with President Ilham Aliyev and Vice President, First Lady of the country, Mehriban Aliyeva. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church conveyed to Aliyev Putin's invitation to Moscow for the parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory. Mehriban Aliyeva, in turn, was awarded the Order of St. Olga, Equal to the Apostles, 1st degree of the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to Aliyev's official website, the topic of the "dominant multicultural environment in Azerbaijan" was discussed at the meeting. It was noted that followers of various religions live in peace and harmony in the republic.
Political scientist Arkady Dubnov, commenting on Patriarch Kirill's visit to Azerbaijan, drew attention to the excessive politeness of his rhetoric.
"...as for your blessed country, you always fly here as if on wings. I think this is connected with your personality and, of course, with the personality of your wonderful wife...", Dubnov quotes the representative of the clergy.
The journalist summed up that "so four months after the drama that happened in the skies over Grozny on December 25 last year with the Azerbaijani passenger plane Embraer shot down by a Russian missile, which killed 39 people, Moscow found a way to make peace with Baku by sending the highest church hierarch of Russia there with an "olive branch of peace".
"After all, the scandal was serious. Aliyev publicly demanded that the Russian leadership admit that the plane was shot down, albeit unintentionally, but by a Russian missile. There were also demands for compensation. And then, when he did not receive an apology, Aliyev said that Moscow would like to "hush up" the matter", the political scientist recalled in his post on Facebook.
Finally, Dubnov asks a rhetorical question: "Should we consider that peace and friendship between Baku and Moscow have been restored and even compensation paid?" - and answers the doomed: "Who knows...".
Recall that on December 25 last year, the Azerbaijani passenger airliner Embraer 190, flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. It is known that there were 67 people on board, of which 42 were citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 - Russia, 6 - Kazakhstan and 3 - Kyrgyzstan. 29 passengers survived.
The reasons for the plane crash have caused a lot of discussion, but the dominant version is that it came under fire from Russian air defense systems during an attack by Ukrainian drones on the territory of Chechnya. This is the opinion of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in connection with which he demanded that the Russian Federation admit guilt, punish the perpetrators and pay compensation.
On February 4, Reuters reported, citing sources in the Azerbaijani government, that Baku had evidence of the downing of the Embraer airliner by the Russian Pantsir air defense system, namely a missile fragment. Soon after, it became known that the Azerbaijani authorities intended to file a lawsuit in an international court over the plane crash.
In February, the Azerbaijani authorities sent the Russian side an official notification about the termination of Rossotrudnichestvo activities in the country. Prior to this, Baku.tv, which is financed by the Azerbaijani government, accused the Rossotrudnichestvo-controlled Russian House project of espionage, calling it a "hotbed of separatism and a nest of espionage." Baku also banned entry into the country for Nikolai Valuev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Tourism Committee, for insulting and threatening Azerbaijan.
