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Akbar Novruz

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan on July 6 summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Yevdokimov to lodge a strong protest over the drone strike on a SOCAR gas station in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region, AzerNEWS reports.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, Azerbaijani officials expressed strong dissatisfaction during the meeting over the July 5 attack and handed the Russian side an official diplomatic note of protest.

The ministry stressed that the strike was not an isolated incident, recalling that SOCAR's facilities in Ukraine had previously been targeted during the ongoing conflict. These included attacks on a gas distribution compressor station and an oil depot in Odesa, which caused significant material damage and left company employees injured.

Azerbaijan stated that the recurrence of such incidents, despite repeated warnings, indicates that the attacks were carried out deliberately.

During the meeting, the Azerbaijani side also raised concerns over previous air strikes that damaged the country's Embassy in Kyiv and its Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv, emphasizing that diplomatic and consular premises must be protected in accordance with the Vienna Conventions.

The Foreign Ministry called on Russia to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all of the incidents, provide an appropriate explanation for the attacks, and fulfill its international obligations regarding the protection of civilian infrastructure and diplomatic missions.