The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged Azerbaijan to restore its ties with Moscow to a level befitting "strategic cooperation" after saying that certain forces were trying to wreck the two countries' relationship.

The rift, provoked by the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russian custody, was the latest in a series of spats that revealed a deeper diplomatic rift between the former allies.

Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry told local media that seven people linked to a Kremlin-funded media outlet in Baku have been detained after a Monday raid on its office