TotalEnergies and Bapco Energies are launching BxT Trading, an equally owned trading joint venture backed by flows from Bapco Energies’ Refinery. The signing ceremony was witnessed yesterday by His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of Bapco Energies, and Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies in Abu Dhabi, Azernews reports.
Day: January 14, 2026
Azerbaijan hands over Armenian prisoners
Four ethnic Armenians held in prisons in Azerbaijan were transferred to Armenia on 14 January and are now on Armenian territory.
The entirely unexpected move was confirmed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenia’s National Security Service.
Those handed over were David Davtyan, Gevorg Sudzhyan, Vigen Euljekdjian and Vagif Khachatryan.
“The process was carried out as a practical outcome of the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Armenia’s National Security Service said in a statement.
Nikol Pashinyan wrote:
“According to the results of the initial medical examinations, no health problems have been identified in Gevorg Sudzhyan, David Davtyan and Vigen Euljekdjian. Vagif Khachatryan’s health condition [he was travelling (from Karabakh) to Yerevan in July 2023 for heart surgery when he was detained by Azerbaijani border guards] is initially assessed as satisfactory. They are being transported to Yerevan.”
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The Azerbaijani state news agency APA commented on the event as follows:
“In accordance with a bilateral agreement reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and guided by principles of humanitarianism, four individuals — Vagif Cherkezi Khachatryan, Gevorg Rubenovich Sudzhyan, David Tigrani Davtyan and Viken Abraham Euljekjian — who had been convicted under various articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan and were serving their sentences in our country, were transferred to Armenia.
This process is also a practical outcome of the peace established between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The rights of the transferred individuals were fully respected during their detention in Azerbaijan; their health and conditions of detention complied with international standards. Prior to their transfer to Armenia, the convicted individuals also underwent medical examinations, which confirmed that their health was normal.
Vagif Khachatryan, whose health condition had been unsatisfactory, received all necessary medical care and was under constant medical supervision.”
Armenian authorities are reportedly preparing to remove Russian border guards from the Akhurik checkpoint on the border with Türkiye, signaling a potential shift in Yerevan’s approach to border management and regional diplomacy. Preparatory steps, including the installation of a flagpole, have been completed, while Russian personnel are expected to remain present during the transition.