The Biden administration appears to be slow-walking the
renewal of a long-standing military assistance program to Azerbaijan amid
growing warnings of ethnic cleansing in the breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Politico writes.
These competing political pressures are creating a delicate
landscape in the South Caucasus for the Biden administration, which is caught
in a struggle between its values and the pragmatic realities of geopolitics.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza told
Politico that going ahead with the 907 waiver at this particular moment would
create a political firestorm for the Biden administration. But killing the 907
waiver at this delicate diplomatic juncture would seriously risk derailing a
peace treaty that is closer than it has ever been.
Spokespeople for the State Department and the
National Security Council confirmed that the military assistance waiver remains
under review but denied that the current state of peace talks or recent events
in Nagorno-Karabakh were affecting the timeline for renewing it. The
spokespeople for the State Department also noted that the U.S. policy on
Azerbaijan has not changed, adding that the United States values its strategic
partnership with Azerbaijan.
