Donald Trump and Xi Jinping expected to hold trade talks this week
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak this week to discuss recent trade tensions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, speaking at a press conference in Baku with his Georgian counterpart Maka Bochorishvili on January 16, stated that his country had been "punished" by the U.S. under the 907th Amendment for restoring its sovereignty in 2023.
The minister highlighted that in September 2023, Azerbaijan conducted a 23-hour-long anti-terror operation to fully restore its sovereignty. However, shortly after the operation, the U.S. adopted an approach that Bayramov said was inconsistent with international law:
“The 907th Amendment to the Freedom Support Act, adopted in 1992, had been applied to Azerbaijan. For many years, the application of this amendment had been suspended. However, this time it was not suspended, and for the first time in 20 years, Azerbaijan was effectively punished simply for restoring its sovereignty,” Bayramov said.
Jeyhun Bayramov also criticized USAID’s activities in Azerbaijan, asserting that the agency primarily served U.S. interests:
“Despite everything, Azerbaijan made it clear that if the U.S. was genuinely interested in providing assistance, such aid must be carried out transparently and officially,” he said.
The minister added that it was no longer feasible for USAID to continue operating in Azerbaijan. He explained that the framework agreement in place since 2000 had been reviewed, revealing that the agency’s activities were not aligned with Azerbaijan’s interests but rather served to advance the U.S. agenda in the country.
“In accordance with the provisions of this agreement, we issued notices and declared that we were not interested in extending the agreement under these terms,” Bayramov emphasized.
The minister noted that the cooperation agreement with USAID was set to expire in February 2024. While the U.S. conveyed high-level messages about continuing collaboration, Bayramov stated that the negotiations did not consider Azerbaijan’s terms and instead sought to impose U.S. interests:
“This approach disregarded Azerbaijan’s legitimate interests. Therefore, we decided not to continue the cooperation,” he added.
Bayramov concluded by stating that terminating USAID’s activities in Azerbaijan was a necessary step:
“Negotiations showed that the U.S. was only advancing its own interests without considering Azerbaijan’s position. For this reason, the time has come to fully terminate USAID’s presence and activities in the country.”
As peace talks progress, voices from Yerevan, Tbilisi, and Baku reveal hopes, concerns, and expectations for a future shaped by trade, trust, and generational change in the South Caucasus.
A bridge collapse in the Vygonichsky district of Russia’s Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border, caused a train derailment and a traffic accident early Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving 30 injured, according to emergency services.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has confirmed it carried out a third targeted attack against the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, early Tuesday morning, marking a new escalation in the ongoing conflict with Russia.
A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture early Monday, causing no reported injuries or damage, and no tsunami warning was issued, officials confirmed.
Federal authorities have arrested 14 suspects in Los Angeles linked to an Armenian organized crime ring accused of stealing $30 million in COVID relief and Small Business loans intended to support American taxpayers.
Armenia's unchecked mining pollution poses a severe environmental crisis, imperilling water resources and health across the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan. Heavy metal contamination in shared rivers threatens ecosystems and human well-being, demanding urgent international action.
China approved 11.29 gigawatts (GW) of new coal-fired power capacity in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing the 10.34 GW approved in the entire first half of 2024, according to a new report released by Greenpeace on Thursday.
Chinese authorities have warned of increased flood risks across northern China during the summer months, predicting more frequent and intense storms between June and August.
China’s central bank has announced a new set of measures to strengthen financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aiming to help them navigate external uncertainties and maintain stable operations, according to a senior official at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
China’s services activity expanded at a modestly faster pace in May, driven by stronger domestic demand, though new export orders declined amid growing concerns over U.S. tariffs, according to a private sector survey released on Thursday.
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