BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9. The waiver of the unjust Section 907, especially with my presence in the office, carries great symbolic significance,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in an interview with the Azerbaijani press in Washington, Trend reports.
"Issuing a waiver and signing a waiver to this unjust Section 907 amendment to the Freedom Support Act, in the Oval Office and in my presence, has very symbolic meaning. He could have done it in another form or signed it later, but he chose to do it in front of the President of Azerbaijan — a country that was unjustly sanctioned by Congress back in October 1992. At that time, members of Congress were unaware of Azerbaijan and what was happening in the South Caucasus and were influenced by Armenian lobbying groups. Azerbaijan, the victim, was portrayed as the aggressor. That amendment deprived us of direct American assistance, which we badly needed at the time. Azerbaijan was a poor country then, with many refugees and a ruined economy. We were the only former Soviet republic under sanctions. In 2001, these sanctions were waived because the US government needed Azerbaijan’s assistance in Afghanistan. We provided a very important transportation network called the Northern Distribution Network, which included overflights, land, and maritime transportation. Every year, American presidents issued waivers until 2023," said President Ilham Aliyev.