President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Russia and Azerbaijan to “exercise restraint” as relations between the two neighbours deteriorate, saying Türkiye is monitoring the situation closely and stands ready to support dialogue. Ankara maintains what Erdoğan called “deep and strategic ties” with both Moscow and Baku, giving it a vested interest in preventing further escalation. Tensions have mounted since late June, when Russian investigators detained six ethnic-Azeri Russian citizens in Yekaterinburg on long-standing murder charges, two of whom subsequently died in custody. Baku responded by summoning Russia’s chargé d’affaires, suspending joint cultural events and probing the local office of state-run news agency Sputnik, where 13 Russian citizens were reported detained. Each side has launched separate investigations, and normal bilateral exchanges have stalled. Speaking to reporters on his flight home from Baku, Erdoğan warned that the dispute could inflict “irreparable damage” on Russia-Azerbaijan ties and destabilise the wider South Caucasus. He added that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “is not in favour of escalation,” and voiced confidence that the two governments possess the “wisdom and understanding” to defuse the row through diplomacy. Erdoğan also highlighted the planned Zangezur Corridor, a rail-and-road link that would connect mainland Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave via Armenia. Calling the project a “geo-economic revolution,” he said the route could open new trade opportunities from China through Türkiye to Europe—benefits that, he argued, underline the importance of preserving regional stability.