BAKU, Azerbaijan — A permanent repeal of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act is unlikely before Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a peace treaty and the TRIPP transport project is implemented, according to CASPIA Center expert Lyaman Nazarova.
Nazarova said Washington continues to view the restriction as a means of leverage over Baku even while acting as a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.
She said the repeated suspension of Section 907, rather than its full repeal, reflects Azerbaijan’s position as an independent and therefore less predictable actor in the South Caucasus. In her assessment, Congress could return to the question after a peace agreement and the practical launch of TRIPP.
Peace Process Extends Beyond U.S. Interests
Nazarova said signals from Armenia remain mixed, making it too early to call Yerevan’s peace course irreversible. She noted, however, that both governments have so far tried to keep historical and cultural disputes from dominating the highest political level, where normalization and transport projects remain the priorities.
Regional stability serves not only Azerbaijan, Armenia and the United States, she said, but also China, Russia and other actors seeking new transit routes and investment opportunities. A breakdown of agreements would hurt several countries and jeopardize planned economic projects.
Caucasian Albanian Heritage
Nazarova also addressed disputes over the historical and religious heritage of Karabakh and the Western Azerbaijan Community’s calls for deeper study of Caucasian Albanian monuments.
She said Azerbaijan lacked access during the occupation to many monuments, archives and other sources and now needs a permanent scientific mechanism based on documents, archaeology and other verifiable evidence. She rejected the view that every Christian monument in the South Caucasus should automatically be treated as exclusively Armenian heritage.
Conflict Trauma and the Information War
Decades of conflict left deep trauma in Azerbaijani society, Nazarova said, with hundreds of thousands of people losing homes and access to family graves. That history means even a limited dispute can quickly trigger wider public confrontation, she said.
Nazarova argued that Armenia was more effective in international advocacy for roughly 30 years, including through diaspora engagement with political parties, media and civic groups in the United States and Europe. She identified Section 907 as one result of that campaign and described Baku’s effort to repeal it as a matter of restoring fairness.
She also said international rules are applied selectively, pointing to Azerbaijan’s unsuccessful efforts over many years to secure enforcement of resolutions related to Karabakh and to similar problems in other conflicts, including Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Source: Daily Europe Online interview.