{"id":1691,"date":"2026-01-09T11:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/?p=1691"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:38:03","slug":"the-real-face-of-the-907th-amendment-and-u-s-azerbaijan-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/archives\/1691","title":{"rendered":"THE REAL FACE OF THE 907TH AMENDMENT AND U.S.\u2013AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Ilham Aliyev\u2019s recent interviews with domestic television channels provide a conceptual political analysis that unveils the structural logic and institutional character of U.S.\u2013Azerbaijan relations. The President presents the 907th amendment not as an isolated episode or the product of individual relationships, but through the prism of international system mechanisms, the hierarchy of great power interests, and how weaker actors are easily transformed into objects of political manipulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aliyev\u2019s statements reaffirm a core reality in international relations: justice often derives not from formal legal norms, but from institutional memory and the calculus of political utility. The 907th amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress, reflects the political configuration of a specific historical period while simultaneously symbolizing Washington\u2019s long-standing selective approach toward the South Caucasus. In this sense, the President\u2019s position exposes how injustice can be normalized and maintained within international institutional agendas for years as a seemingly routine decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

A notable feature of Aliyev\u2019s approach is the avoidance of an emotional narrative. The focus is not on \u201cwho is right?\u201d but on the more fundamental question: \u201cWhy does the international system operate this way?\u201d As the President emphasizes, Azerbaijan\u2019s early post-Soviet role as a functional partner\u2014whether as a transit corridor, an element of energy security, or a military-logistical partner\u2014demonstrates that bilateral relations were based on instrumental utility rather than intrinsic value.<\/span><\/p>\n

During a period when Azerbaijan faced existential security threats, humanitarian crises, and occupation, the country was paradoxically punished, while the aggressor enjoyed political protection. Aliyev\u2019s analysis exposes the roots of this paradox.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the President notes, the 907th amendment was formally an independent decision of the U.S. Congress. However, international practice shows that such decisions rarely emerge purely from neutral institutional mechanisms. Rather, administrative indifference, information asymmetry, and powerful lobbying operated together as decisive factors. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reducing the issue to Armenian lobbying alone would be a politically simplistic explanation. The real problem was Azerbaijan\u2019s inability, at that stage, to act as a fully fledged subject defending its interests systematically in international institutions. Consequently, a political vacuum emerged, which was swiftly filled by more organized actors with institutional leverage. Politically, this phenomenon aligns with the concept of the\u00a0<\/span>\u201cinvisibility of weak states in international institutions\u201d<\/span><\/strong>: when a state\u2019s legal sovereignty is not matched by real political weight, it can be easily marginalized in decision-making processes. The 907th amendment was the product of precisely such a scenario: the state under occupation and facing a humanitarian catastrophe became a passive subject, while the aggressor actively shaped the narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another crucial point is the stark contradiction between the historical-political context of the amendment and objective reality. Aliyev frames this contrast precisely and unemotionally: \u201cAt that time, our territories were already under occupation\u2026 The Azerbaijani population was subjected to the Khojaly genocide by the Armenian state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This statement underscores that, from the perspective of international law\u2014territorial integrity, state sovereignty, and protection of civilian populations\u2014the amendment punished the victim rather than the aggressor. If the formal rationale for the 907th amendment was the \u201cblockade of Armenia,\u201d the claim fails both geopolitically and factually. Armenia maintained open borders with Georgia and Iran, and the Turkey\u2013Armenia border was not yet closed, rendering the \u201cblockade\u201d argument a normative myth. In this context, the amendment ceases to function as a legal instrument and becomes a tool of lobby-driven political influence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Politically, the 907th amendment exemplifies the selective application of international justice: the gap between declared principles of international law and the substance of real-world decisions is stark. Such discrepancies are particularly visible in the treatment of weak or transitional states.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Aliyev\u2019s explicit mention of Joe Biden is not personal polemic or political preference but a revelation of political continuity and institutional patterns. His statements demonstrate that U.S. administrations, despite stylistic differences, have maintained a consistent line regarding Azerbaijan, reflecting long-term strategic calculations rather than situational decisions. The Obama\u2013Biden and subsequent Biden\u2013Blinken administrations\u2019 approaches show that U.S. policy was guided by enduring institutional and ideological positions in regional matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

This highlights the structural contradiction between Washington\u2019s normative discourse on human rights, democracy, and international justice and its practical policy tools. In Azerbaijan\u2019s case, the state that suffered occupation, ethnic cleansing, and humanitarian catastrophe was paradoxically positioned as the \u201cpunished party.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The temporary suspension of the 907th amendment following the September 11, 2001 attacks confirms the pragmatic, interest-based character of U.S. policy. Azerbaijan\u2019s strategic significance in the Afghan mission temporarily altered Washington\u2019s priorities, suspending the amendment as transit routes, logistics, and regional stability became paramount. Once the mission concluded, the amendment\u2019s reactivation revealed the instrumental logic underpinning U.S. regional policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aliyev\u2019s pointed observation\u2014\u201cThe day will come when we will be needed again. But do not knock on our door then\u201d\u2014encapsulates Azerbaijan\u2019s transformation. It reflects the country\u2019s shift from a weak, dependent actor seeking assistance to a regional power confident in its energy resources, transport-logistics infrastructure, and security architecture.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a political-analytical perspective, this represents a clear transition from\u00a0<\/span>asymmetric dependency<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>to a\u00a0<\/span>model of symmetric interests<\/span><\/strong>. Whereas Azerbaijan was once a functional asset for the United States, it now operates as a decisive actor in regional processes. Aliyev\u2019s message is clear: partnerships cannot be limited to episodic convenience; history, political memory, and mutual respect must underpin international cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Changes observed during the Trump administration further illustrate that U.S.\u2013Azerbaijan relations are driven by strategic realism, not ideological proximity or personal affinity. During this period, Washington\u2019s South Caucasus policy was structured around power balance, energy security, and geostrategic communication lines, enabling a shift toward pragmatic, mutually beneficial engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, as Aliyev emphasizes, the 907th amendment has lost all practical, legal, and moral justification. Constructed on artificial arguments during a conflict, it has become obsolete in the post-conflict reality. Azerbaijan has emerged as a central node in communication corridors, transport routes, and energy flows, while Armenia\u2019s transit capacities are effectively conditioned by Azerbaijani territory.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 907th amendment, once an instrument of influence, now stands as a symbolic relic of institutional legacy, offering neither additional leverage to Washington nor strategic utility in regional dynamics. On the contrary, it serves as a cautionary emblem, undermining U.S. claims to justice and balanced action in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shabnam ZEYNALOVA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expert of the Baku Political Scientists<\/strong>\u2019 Club (Center)<\/strong><\/p>\n

PhD in Poltical Science, Associate Profesor<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Ilham Aliyev\u2019s recent interviews with domestic television channels provide a conceptual political analysis that unveils the structural logic and institutional character of U.S.\u2013Azerbaijan relations. The President presents the 907th amendment not as an isolated episode or the product of individual relationships, but through the prism of international system mechanisms, the hierarchy of great power…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politscientists","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1692,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions\/1692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/think-tanks.az\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}