Washington–Baku: Strategic partnership against Section 907 Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

Relations between Azerbaijan and the United States have reached a qualitatively new level following the historic Washington-2025 meeting and the signing of the Charter on Strategic Partnership. A major role in this process was played by the relations based on mutual respect between the leaders of the two countries — Ilham Aliyev and Donald Trump.

However, a shadow over the strategic ties between the two countries is still cast by the notorious Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, adopted in 1992 at the initiative of the Armenian lobby. In the opinion of many politicians, it is a relic of the past and, as former Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kılıç put it, “should finally be thrown into the dustbin of history.”

In this context, the visit to Azerbaijan by Abraham Hamadeh, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is particularly noteworthy. He is a co-author of the bill introduced in Congress that calls for the repeal of the unjust amendment. The significance of this fact was also specifically emphasised during the meeting between Hamadeh and President Ilham Aliyev.

What views do experts and analysts hold regarding the possibility of repealing Section 907 in the near future? US and Azerbaijani political analysts shared their perspectives on this issue with Caliber.Az.

Thus, Matthew Bryza, a member of the Board of Directors of the Jamestown Foundation and a former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, noted that the number of supporters of the bill to repeal Section 907 — of which Abraham Hamadeh is an active co-author — is growing.

“However, Republican Congressman Abraham Hamadeh, who was elected to Congress from the state of Arizona, only recently began serving in the legislative body and therefore does not yet possess significant political influence. Accordingly, in the near term, he is unlikely to have a substantial impact on the process of repealing Section 907.

Overall, the situation today is as follows: the bill has effectively stalled in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as it faces opposition from lawmakers aligned with the Armenian lobby in the United States. In particular, California Congressman Brad Sherman proposed including a provision in another bill that would require the strict enforcement of Section 907.

Thus, a stalemate has emerged: supporters of the Armenian diaspora are seeking the full implementation of the amendment, while Republicans who are friendly toward Azerbaijan are advocating its repeal. Unless President Trump decides to actively push this issue through Congress, including by engaging some Democrats as well, the prospects for a legislative repeal of Section 907 remain highly unlikely.

At present, Trump is using his authority to waive the application of this amendment, based on the fact that Azerbaijan is an important partner for Washington, playing a significant role in addressing a number of geopolitical issues. And this is an absolutely accurate position, because today Azerbaijan is consistently strengthening its standing as an important geopolitical player in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as in the Middle East and Europe, where more than ten European countries are recipients of Azerbaijani gas,” Bryza stated.

In turn, political scientist and professor at Western Caspian University, Fikret Sadikhov, recalled that this amendment, adopted back in 1992, is entirely unjust, and the accusations that were once brought against Azerbaijan through the U.S. Congress had no real grounds.

“Essentially, it has become a kind of relic in the current relations between Azerbaijan and the United States of America. It is no coincidence that the Azerbaijani leader, during his meeting with the American congressman, noted that following Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president, Azerbaijani-American relations have reached an exceptionally high level,” he emphasised.

According to the political scientist, there are currently no objective reasons for maintaining this provision in U.S. legislation.

“Azerbaijan’s steps aimed at promoting the repeal of this amendment are fully justified and well-founded. Many years have passed since its adoption, and even at that time, there were no convincing reasons for its introduction. All the arguments put forward in its defence were, in fact, inconsistent with the realities that had developed both in Azerbaijan and in the region as a whole.

This is even more evident today, when the Azerbaijani state has restored its sovereignty over its territories, and its territorial integrity is recognised by all countries of the world, including the United States of America. At present, the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia is actively advancing, and under these circumstances, this amendment has become merely a formal provision and should undoubtedly be repealed.

The visits of American congressmen who come to our country, meet with our leader, discuss this issue, and put forward proposals for resolving it testify to Baku’s diplomatic success. This demonstrates that efforts in this direction are continuing and are producing certain results.

I believe that, given firm political will and common sense in the U.S. Congress, this amendment should eventually be repealed sooner or later. Certainly, the issue is not an easy one, as there are many political forces in Congress that oppose its repeal and defend their own interests, which are not always objective. However, Azerbaijan will continue to consistently work in this direction. Moreover, our efforts will become even more active in order to finally remove this issue from the agenda and eliminate it as one of the factors hindering the further development of Azerbaijani-American relations,” Sadikhov concluded.