In a carefully staged visit intended to showcase religious tolerance and bilateral warmth, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva hosted Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Baku on May 3. The encounter unfolded with an abundance of pleasantries and symbolic gestures. Yet, within hours, relations were rattled by an unexpected diplomatic incident in Moscow, threatening to overshadow the optics of interfaith harmony with political discord.

Aliyev greeted the patriarch with characteristic formality and personal warmth, recalling earlier encounters and praising the role of the Orthodox Christian community in Azerbaijan’s multi-ethnic fabric. "We traditionally demonstrate great sympathy, respect, and mutual support for each other," Aliyev remarked, positioning interfaith peace as central to national development. He highlighted the integration of the Russian Orthodox community into Azerbaijan’s political and cultural life as a model of coexistence.

Patriarch Kirill, in turn, offered glowing praise for his Azerbaijani hosts, linking his sense of comfort in Baku to the "sincerity" and "true friendship" he felt from the presidential couple. He conveyed personal greetings and an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin for Aliyev to attend Moscow’s commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. "Everything is developing very well now," Kirill said of bilateral relations. "May God grant that it will continue to be the case," he concluded.

Later, the patriarch awarded Mehriban Aliyeva the Saint Princess Olga Order, First Degree, citing her contributions to traditional values and intercultural dialogue. The exchange of gifts concluded the visit's official segment, reinforcing a cordiality narrative and shared civilisational values between the Russian Orthodox Church and Azerbaijan’s secular leadership.

But the message of harmony was short-lived.

That same day, Azerbaijani ruling party MP Azer Badamov, travelling as part of an official delegation to Astrakhan for commemorations of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev’s 102nd anniversary, was detained at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. Russian authorities informed him he was banned from entering the country. He was denied boarding for his internal connecting flight and returned to Baku without explanation. 

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry condemned the incident as an "unfriendly step" and demanded an official explanation. "Despite flying from Baku to Moscow as part of an invited delegation, Russian authorities blocked MP Badamov’s entry without prior notification or justification," said MFA spokesperson Aykhan Hajizadeh. The ministry confirmed that the trip had been arranged at the invitation of the Astrakhan region’s vice-governor Denis Afanasyev, and that the purpose was purely ceremonial.

Local media and analysts in Azerbaijan have tied the ban to Badamov’s recent public rebuke of Russian State Duma member Nikolai Valuyev, who had previously insulted Azerbaijanis in a Telegram post following the shutdown of the Russian House in Baku. Badamov had labelled Valuyev a "Neanderthal" and accused him of spreading ethnic hatred. His remarks, widely supported in Azerbaijani political and social circles, may have triggered retaliatory measures by Moscow.

This interpretation is gaining traction. A commentary by Milli.az described the ban as "no coincidence”, referencing previous incidents including cyberattacks against Azerbaijani media in February. Those attacks, attributed to the Russia-linked APT29 (Cozy Bear) group, were allegedly timed with the closure of the Russian House and the shuttering of the Sputnik Azerbaijan bureau. Ramid Namazov, head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary commission on hybrid threats, openly accused Russia of orchestrating the intrusion, citing digital fingerprints linked to Russian intelligence infrastructure.

The Report.az outlet went further, suggesting that factions within the Kremlin may be deliberately aggravating tensions despite continued public affirmations of partnership. The article juxtaposed Patriarch Kirill’s declarations of friendship with what it called the "insulting" treatment of Badamov. The piece questioned Russia’s sincerity in promoting mutual respect, warning that such provocations could erode Azerbaijan’s patience.

In contrast, pro-government Russian coverage from TASS and the Rossotrudnichestvo federal agency remained focused on legal formalities, noting ongoing talks with Baku over the legal status of the Russian House, which was closed for operating without formal registration. Yevgeny Primakov, head of Rossotrudnichestvo, insisted that the issue was being handled by diplomatic and legal professionals and expressed hope for a “positive resolution”.

RFE/RL’s Russian service noted that Badamov’s clash with Valuyev had likely played a role in the entry ban, particularly in the context of escalating frictions dating back to the downing of an Azerbaijani aircraft over Russian territory — a case that remains unresolved.

The dissonance between the cordial reception for Patriarch Kirill in Baku and the abrupt rejection of an Azerbaijani MP in Moscow encapsulates the current ambiguity in Azerbaijan-Russia ties. On the surface, state-to-state relations remain framed by mutual declarations of friendship, strategic partnership and respect for diversity. Yet beneath, mistrust festers, fuelled by hybrid confrontations, rhetoric on both sides and diverging geopolitical trajectories. The juxtaposition of a religious honour ceremony with diplomatic exclusion may not be accidental. Rather, it may reflect a Kremlin increasingly divided between those seeking to preserve post-Soviet regional ties and those leveraging punitive tactics in response to perceived slights.

Whether Aliyev will accept the Kremlin’s invitation to Moscow amid these events remains uncertain. Taking into account that Azerbaijan’s media landscape operates under de facto state control and that political commentary rarely escapes unofficial sanction, the message emanating from Baku appears all the more deliberate: symbolic courtesies cannot replace genuine reciprocity, adherence to legal norms or restraint in the exercise of power.