The arrested Russian journalists have been working in Azerbaijan not for a week, not a month, but for years, without any complaints from anyone. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), stated this at Wednesday’s press briefing.

"We see falsifications in the [Azerbaijani] local media. I am not sure that this is some kind of deliberate, planned information campaign. Perhaps this is happening in the heat of hysteria," Zakharova added.