What lies ahead for Section 907? Washington faces growing uncertainty

The strengthening of the Democrats’ position in the US midterm elections could limit the political room for manoeuvre available to Donald Trump’s administration. This situation may also affect Washington’s foreign policy agenda, including its relations with Azerbaijan. In particular, Section 907, which has long been under discussion and remains one of the sensitive issues in Azerbaijan-US relations, is once again coming into focus.

What can Azerbaijan expect under these circumstances?

Political analyst Ali Mustafa discussed the issue with TodayPress TV.

The analyst believes Trump still has sufficient political leverage to repeal Section 907:

“There are still favourable opportunities to eliminate Section 907 before January. A new Congress will begin its work in January. Until then, the Republican Party, led by Trump, holds the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Of course, if Trump wishes, he can ensure improved relations with Azerbaijan and, at the same time, the removal of this unjust sanction imposed against our country.”

The political analyst said the amendment is incompatible with strategic partnership relations:

“A process of strategic partnership is already underway between the United States and Azerbaijan. It is wrong for this sanction against Azerbaijan to remain in force following such an agreement. Section 907 itself is also the product of an unjust and inadequate approach. It is an example of injustice by a superpower such as the United States.”

Our interviewee also stressed that the amendment does not reflect the new political realities in the region:

“Azerbaijan kept Armenia under blockade. Now Armenia is no longer keeping Azerbaijan under blockade, but the issue of opening one of Azerbaijan’s borders still depends on Armenia’s position. In other words, if they had genuinely adopted an honest and objective political approach, this amendment should have been imposed against Armenia rather than Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, they continue to ensure that this disgraceful amendment remains in force. The right course of action, however, would be to repeal it without wasting any more time.”

Jala Rovshan