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EXCLUSIVE: Identity of woman Ramiz Mehdiyev contacted in Russia revealed

12 February 2026 17:04 (UTC +04:00)

In a video material released today by the State Security Service (SSS), there is a fragment of a phone conversation between former Head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev and an unidentified woman.

During the conversation, Ramiz Mehdiyev asks the woman for advice on how to pass on to certain individuals a letter he had prepared regarding “changes in the state governance system” in Azerbaijan — effectively concerning a post–coup governance model.

In the video fragment, the woman’s identity is not disclosed.

According to information obtained by APA, the woman works at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and acted as an intermediary in R. Mehdiyev’s contacts with Russian security agencies. The source stated that during the period when Mehdiyev served as President of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (2019–2022), he maintained contact with his curators in Russia specifically through the security agencies’ network within the RAS.

Note that Ramiz Mehdiyev was dismissed from the position of President of ANAS on February 19, 2022. Just three months earlier—on November 25–26, 2021—he hosted a delegation of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Baku led by its President, Alexander Sergeyev. Mehdiyev personally welcomed the guests at Heydar Aliyev International Airport, and during a meeting held at ANAS, he was presented with a commemorative medal of the RAS.

The fact that Russian intelligence agencies (especially the FSB) maintain strong control mechanisms and agent networks within the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific institutions has been repeatedly noted in international media and investigations. This system dates back to the Soviet era, and intelligence officers sometimes operate within the RAS as “advisers” or “experts.” According to the source, the woman with whom Ramiz Mehdiyev was in contact is one such “expert.”

Although the identity of that person is known, it is not being disclosed for now due to the interests of the investigation.

The State Security Service today released a statement about Ramiz Mehdiyev, Abbas Abbasov, Ali Karimli, and others.