On July 21, Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the President of Russia, stated that it is important for Russia that Russians are respected in Azerbaijan, responding to journalists’ questions regarding the current tensions between the two countries. During his remarks, Peskov addressed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's statement about intentions to file lawsuits in international courts concerning the crash of the AZAL airline plane. He emphasized that "if Azerbaijan makes such a decision – in this case, it is Azerbaijan's right – we will expect official verdicts from all ongoing proceedings and investigations."

Peskov highlighted that despite the current difficulties, Russia and Azerbaijan maintain cooperation "based on mutual respect." He noted that "there really is a solid foundation, there is a coincidence of interests between the two countries, there is mutually beneficial cooperation... We believe that cooperation between the two countries really brings mutual benefit." Concluding his comments, Peskov expressed hope that the current difficulties in bilateral relations would be temporary. "Sometimes it happens that difficult periods occur in relations between two countries. Now is one of such periods. We hope that this period will pass," he stated.