Initialling, declaration, Section 907, and strategic partnership On the Azerbaijani president’s visit to Washington

According to reliable sources known to Caliber.Az, an event of significant political and historical importance will soon take place in Washington — the initialling of the text of a peace agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia. This step means that the parties have reached a consensus on all points of the draft agreement and will officially record their approval of its content.

Initialling is an important diplomatic procedure that, although not equivalent to the final signing of the agreement, nevertheless confirms the completion of the text’s negotiation stage. From the perspective of international practice, this indicates the readiness of the parties to move towards concluding a full and legally binding peace treaty. At the same time, the formal signing of the peace treaty may take place after a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments scheduled in Armenia for 2026.

Meanwhile, as reported by Trend, a Joint Declaration is expected to be signed between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Washington, in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Azerbaijan put forward two main conditions for signing the peace agreement with Armenia:

— A joint appeal to the OSCE regarding the dissolution of the Minsk Group;

— Amendments to the Constitution of Armenia aimed at eliminating territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

The forthcoming Joint Declaration will confirm that Azerbaijan and Armenia will send a joint appeal to the OSCE Secretary-General on the dissolution of the Minsk Group. It will also recognise the need for further steps to sign and ratify the Agreement on Establishing Interstate Relations and Peace between the two countries after the text has been initialled. In other words, it confirms the necessity of constitutional amendments in Armenia as one of the key conditions for concluding the final peace agreement.

Following the Patriotic War, President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that unobstructed land passage must be ensured between the main part of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan. This demand of the Azerbaijani president was accepted by the Armenian side. Thus, the Joint Declaration will confirm the guarantee of free movement between the main part of the country and Nakhchivan. This will implement the Zangezur Corridor project.

On August 7, a meeting took place in Washington between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to AZERTAC, first, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and the U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, a “Memorandum of Cooperation” was signed between SOCAR and ExxonMobil.

The document was signed by Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill.

Afterwards, President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Thus, it can be noted that cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan is moving towards a strategic partnership. The visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the United States carries great historical significance. As APA reports, Azerbaijani-American relations are entering a qualitatively new phase.

A clear proof of this is the signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America on the Establishment of a Strategic Working Group to Develop the Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America, signed during the visit.

The Azerbaijani-American strategic partnership will cover the following three areas:

— Regional connectivity, including energy, trade, and transit;

— Economic investments, including artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure;

— Security cooperation, including defence sales and counter-terrorism collaboration.

The Strategic Working Group will deal with important issues such as expanding infrastructure for regional connectivity and investments in energy, promoting regional economic and commercial cooperation, as well as the development of artificial intelligence.

The strategic partnership between the U.S. and Azerbaijan signifies the arrival of American technologies and investments in the country, alongside increased U.S. economic activity.

In conclusion, it should be noted that U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a document suspending the enforcement of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. As Report agency informs, the document will be signed on August 8 during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Washington.

This decision, which is the result of successful cooperation between Ilham Aliyev and Donald Trump, will put an end to the injustice that Azerbaijan has faced for 33 years.

In 1992, when the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories was ongoing, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting the provision of U.S. government assistance to Azerbaijan on the grounds of an alleged blockade imposed by Baku against Armenia.

Although in subsequent years U.S. presidents temporarily suspended the application of this amendment, the Biden-Blinken administration reinstated it, using it as a tool to pressure Azerbaijan.