Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has declared the activities of both the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Russian House illegal in the country giving equal treatment to both the U.S. and Russia in relation to the operations of significant soft power organisations for both countries. USAID’s closure comes after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump , who told reporters that USAID is “run by a bunch of radical lunatics”and that his administration is “dealing with the situation.” Speculation is growing in Washington about the possibility of integrating USAID into the U.S. State Department’s structure. On the other hand, by expelling Russian House, Azerbaijan appears to be pressuring Russia into admitting responsibility for the downing of an AZAL passenger plane.
According to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, a note was sent to Russia regarding the termination of ‘Russian House’, the local office of Rossotrudnichestvo in Azerbaijan, due to its lack of legal registration. “Based on the decision to terminate Russian House, the Russian side is expected to take appropriate measures,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizade announced on February 6. “In general, the activities of organisations such as USAID and Rossotrudnichestvo in Azerbaijan must be based on national legislation, the principle of reciprocity between states, and the requirements of bilateral agreements,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized.
On the same day, an official notice was also sent to the U.S. side, stating that USAID lacks the legal basis to operate in Azerbaijan and must cease its activities. This was also confirmed by Ayhan Hajizade. Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that, as of June 1, 2024, there are no legal grounds for USAID’s operations in Azerbaijan.
Russia was swift to react to this development. The head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Yevgeny Primakov, told Russian media that the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Baku, and the Rossotrudnichestvo office in Baku had repeatedly appealed to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Justice and Foreign Ministry for assistance in obtaining registration. However, all these requests went unanswered, he told RIA Novosti. Primakov also noted that the owner of the premises housing “Russian House” had announced plans to sell the property and had therefore asked for it to be vacated as soon as possible. Some experts believe that by expelling “Russian House,” Azerbaijan is pressuring Russia to admit responsibility for the downing of an AZAL passenger plane.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson responded sharply to such expectations: “President Vladimir Putin does not plan to make a statement regarding the AZAL plane crash.” According to TASS, this was stated by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president. Recently, a preliminary report on the crash investigation was published. It stated that the damage found on the aircraft fuselage resulted from external impact.
The report contains no evidence suggesting a bird strike or an oxygen tank explosion. It also notes that at 05:13:32, the aircraft’s main control systems failed, and only at 05:21:42 did the coordination dispatcher notify Grozny of the launch of Operation “Cover”. The AZAL passenger plane, operating the Baku-Grozny flight, crashed on December 25 near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died, and 29 survived. Preliminary findings indicate that the crash resulted from physical and technical external impact in Russian airspace over Grozny
Meanwhile, humanitarian workers, diplomats, and lawmakers are trying to understand what is happening with USAID after significant disruptions in its operations in recent days. The agency’s website is down, some employees have lost access to internal systems, and over 100 staff members have been placed on administrative leave, sources told Reuters.
