BAKU (Armenpress)–The US cochairman in the OSCE Minsk Group Mathew Bryza told the Azeri Lider TV that official Washington wanted to eliminate Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, passed in 1992, which restricted US aid to Azerbaijan, until that country lifts its blockade of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. We understand that Section 907 has become unnecessary and hinders the government of the USA to attain its goals in the South Caucasus, he said. Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, a provision of law enacted in 1992, restricts certain forms of direct U.S. assistance to the government of Azerbaijan until the President certifies to Congress that it has taken "demonstrable steps" to lift its blockades against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. On October 24th 2001, the Senate, under extraordinary pressure from the State Department, adopted a broadly worded waiver of Section 907 that would effectively provide the President with nearly unrestricted authority to provide military aid to Azerbaijan.
