No Legal Framework Exists For USAID Activities In Azerbaijan - FM (UPDATE)

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. There is currently no legal framework for the operations of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a joint press conference with Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili, Trend reports.

Minister Bayramov noted that Azerbaijan conducted localized counterterrorism measures on its sovereign territory on September 19-20, 2023, fully restoring its sovereignty.

"Shortly after this, we witnessed completely unfounded attacks on our country from the administration of the US Democrats, which were in no way in line with international law. There exists a sanctioning document known as 'Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act,' adopted in 1992, which had been suspended in relation to Azerbaijan for 20 years.

After these 20 years, Azerbaijan was, in a sense, 'punished' by the Biden administration for restoring its sovereignty. As Azerbaijan was 'punished' in terms of aid by the US administration, we investigated what aid mechanisms the US had for Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, our conclusion was that USAID's assistance was given in the interests of the U.S. We declared that we were not interested in extending this document under such conditions.

Despite that, there were persistent requests from the US before this, which emphasized that the continuation of this document and US aid to Azerbaijan through these tools were important components of the bilateral agenda.

Given all this, the Azerbaijani side took reciprocal steps, signaling a willingness to engage. We stated clearly that if the US was genuinely committed to supporting Azerbaijan, then we should negotiate the terms. Throughout these discussions, we agreed to extend the agreement multiple times, each time for several months, to ensure its validity. In doing so, Azerbaijan demonstrated its goodwill and commitment to a constructive dialogue," Bayramov said.

The minister further explained that after negotiations from February to June 2024, it became clear that the US had no intention of being transparent and only sought to impose its will on Azerbaijan.

"Once clarity was achieved on this issue, Azerbaijan decided not to extend the agreement beyond June 1, 2024.

Today, de jure, USAID has no legal basis to operate in Azerbaijan. In this situation, there is no need for USAID or its representatives to remain in Azerbaijan, and it is time to completely end their activities," he concluded.

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