Shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed, Congress passed the Freedom Support Act to promote freedom in Russia and the newly independent states. In his signing statement, President George H.W. Bush cited the act as a tool “to support free market and democratic reforms being undertaken in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, and the other states of the former Soviet Union.” He also praised provisions to increase US support of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs in the region as well as its lifting of Cold War restrictions.

When Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI) sponsored the legislation, war raged in the South Caucasus. As a young communist functionary, Joseph Stalin gerrymandered borders in the Caucasus in order to undermine nationalism among peoples forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. He assigned Nagorno-Karabakh, populated by Armenians since ancient times, to Azerbaijan. As the Soviet Union collapsed, Nagorno-Karabakh’s residents petitioned — and ultimately voted in a referendum — to invoke their rights under the Soviet-era constitution to secede from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan responded to the vote with anti-Armenian pogroms.

Against the backdrop of this ethnic
bloodshed, Section 907 of the Act prohibited assistance to Azerbaijan “until
the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government
of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other
offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.” For years,
Azerbaijan argued this was unfair: It argued Armenia was the aggressor; after
all, the United States officially recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Against the backdrop of renewed fighting, Azerbaijan’s lobby often
omits that Azerbaijan had foresworn any military solution and agreed to
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mediation to
resolve the conflict diplomatically.

In 2002, as Azerbaijan pledged to cooperate with President George W. Bush’s global war on terrorism, Congress approved a process to waive Section 907 prohibitions annually so long as Azerbaijan remained committed to diplomacy. Between 2002 and 2020, Azerbaijan received approximately $1 billion in US assistance under the waiver program.

That waiver should have ended in 2020 when Azerbaijan, in conjunction with Turkish Special Forces, Israeli drones, and Syrian jihadi mercenaries, launched a surprise attack on Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, Secretary of State Antony Blinken extended the waiver to balance diplomatically the fact that President Joe Biden had formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, something which on its surface should not be of any concern to Azerbaijan.

This month, as Biden prepares again to commemorate the Armenian Genocide, it appears Blinken will again waive Section 907. This flies in the face of the waiver provisions. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office found that, “in fiscal years 2014 through 2021, State and DOD did not document consideration of information the waiver provision requires to be communicated to Congress. For example, the agencies did not document how they determined that their programs would not be used for offensive purposes against Armenia.” In recent weeks, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine distracted Washington, Azerbaijan restarted attacks against Armenian towns in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia proper. Nevertheless, Blinken appears prepared to waive Section 907 prohibitions, citing Azerbaijan’s assistance to Ukraine and support for US policy on Iran.

This would be misguided for three
reasons.

First, Azerbaijan like Turkey has sought to profit from both sides in each conflict. Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev was the first leader to see Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion, concluded a strategic pact with the Kremlin, and has positioned Baku as a sanctions evasion hub. Likewise, Azerbaijan assists Iran with gas swaps and its own trade.

Second, there is little reason why US taxpayers should financially support a country so rich in gas. In theory, Azerbaijan should need US assistance no more than Saudi Arabia does The only reason why it may — and why its per capita income is lower than hydrocarbon-poor Armenia and Georgia — is because of the Aliyev family’s rampant corruption. Indeed, Transparency International ranks Azerbaijan as more corrupt than Papua New Guinea, Niger, El Salvador, and Swaziland.

Third, even if Azerbaijan did assist Ukraine, this does not change the content of the waiver provisions or the law, nor should Armenia pay the price in terms of suffering genocidal aggression. Blinken, who was a Senate staffer prior to following Biden into the White House, knows the law and is only prepared to run roughshod over Congress because he assumes Congress will let him. They should not. If Biden or Blinken want to reward Azerbaijan, they should do so in a way that (1) is consistent with US law, (2) does not affront Congress, and (3) does not further Azerbaijan’s corruption problem or signal that, quite literally, Aliyev can get away with murder.

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