A general view shows the headquarters of Armenia's Foreign Ministry in Yerevan, Armenia, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo
BAKU, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan issued a strong protest to Russia on Friday after a Russian lawmaker condemned the sentencing of 13 ethnic Armenians who had held senior positions in the former breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Five defendants, including former Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan, were sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday by an Azerbaijani military court. Eight others received prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years.
Konstantin Zatulin, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said the proceedings had been a settling of scores, not a trial.
In response, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Russia's ambassador and told him that Zatulin's language was unacceptable.
"At the meeting, the Russian side was called upon to take appropriate measures to curb the destructive activities of individuals such as Zatulin, who are attempting to undermine peace and stability in the region, as well as relations between Azerbaijan and Russia," the ministry said in a statement.
Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, once part of the Soviet Union, have grown increasingly tense in the past few years, hitting a low point with the accidental Russian downing of an Azerbaijani passenger plane in December 2024.
Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, an internationally recognised part of Azerbaijan, broke away from Baku's control as the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought two wars over the mountainous territory before Baku took it back in 2023 and its entire Armenian population of around 100,000 people fled to Armenia.
Karabakh officials captured at that time were placed on trial in Baku in January 2025, accused of a battery of charges including war crimes. International human rights groups have raised concerns about the fairness of the trial.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova, writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Gareth Jones)
