Zatulin reminded Azerbaijan about the downed helicopter with peacekeepers

The Azerbaijani authorities "from time to time, according to the Eastern custom,"utter "compliments and praise" to Russia when it is beneficial to them, said Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, commenting on Baku's intention to stop the work of the Russian House in the country.

"Their real policy is completely different: they are Turkey's allies and promote Turkish interests together with their own in the Caspian Sea, Central Asia and the The Caucasus. They took advantage of the fact that we are distracted in Ukraine; they solved their tasks, as it seems to them, they got Nagorno-Karabakh. We showed ourselves there very modestly, I would say, in a vegetarian way. Now they don't need us in this regard — they have already solved their issues. Well, you see their attitude," Zatulin quotes RTVI.

He recalled that after the incident with the downed Russian Mi-24 helicopter and the death of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh, Azerbaijan apologized, "but that was the end of the matter." In Russia, "they did not aggravate relations, did not demand compensation, did not demand punishments," and now in the republic, "taking advantage of the story with the AZAL plane, they are inflating the anti-Russian HYPE," Zatulin said.

"It is so profitable for them, there is no need for them in Russia like then, before the war in Karabakh, this is a consequence, and there is no need to be surprised about this. Of course, I am not in favor of destroying ties with anyone, with Azerbaijan too — for them to develop, but at the same time we must be aware of the nature of our relations, they are not allied, and I think the surprise about this once again indicates that we we just don't understand what is happening," the deputy believes.

Russian house in Baku is the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Azerbaijan. The main areas of work of the Russian House are the promotion of Russian culture, science and education, strengthening the position of the Russian language, support for compatriots, youth projects, assistance to international development, historical and memorial activities.