On October 14, 2020, “Media Advocate” initiative monitored the publications of 5 leading Russian media outlets to find out how the Russian media covered the actions unleashed by Azerbaijan. The following media outlets were monitored: “Lenta ru”, “Gazeta ru”, “Ria Novosti”, “Regnum”, and “TASS”.
“Lenta.ru” published 26 articles, 6 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 9 of the Armenian side, 11 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 6 out of 11 materials are neutral, 4 are pro-Armenian, 1 is pro-Azerbaijani.
“Gazeta ru” published 36 articles, 8 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 8 of the Armenian side, 20 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 17 out of 20 materials are neutral, 2 are pro-Armenian, 1 is pro-Azerbaijani.
“Ria Novosti” published 64 articles, 20 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 18 of the Armenian side, 26 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 20 out of 26 materials are neutral, 5 are pro-Armenian, 1 is pro-Azerbaijani.
“TASS” published 41 articles, 11 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 6 of the Armenian side, 24 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 18 out of 24 materials are neutral, 3 are pro-Armenian, 3 are pro-Azerbaijani.
“Regnum” published 36 articles, 6 of which were the publications of the Azerbaijani side, 11 of the Armenian side, 19 were calls, statements of different countries and structures, as well as comments of state officials and experts. 13 out of 19 materials are neutral, 2 are pro-Armenian, 4 are pro-Azerbaijani.
Russian expert Konstantin Sivkov, referring to the Artsakh conflict, and a large-scale war that has been going on for more than two weeks, said that Turkey is provoking Azerbaijan not to sign a ceasefire agreement and to deepen escalation. Konstantin Kosachev, in his turn, thinks that Turkey’s intervention in this issue can have devastating consequences. Another expert Vladimir Kazamirov considered the quadripartite talks between Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on the Artsakh issue something unrealistic.
Russian media and experts mainly emphasize that in the war against the Artsakh Republic, the Azerbaijani side uses terrorists, and all this is backed by Turkey.
