Official visit to the US/ Azerbaijani President signs memorandum with the US government

2025-08-11 16:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Official visit to the US/ Azerbaijani President signs memorandum with the US

On August 7-8, 2025, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, paid a visit to the United States of America. During the visit, the presidents of the two countries signed a “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America on the Establishment of a Strategic Working Group for the Development of a Charter of Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States of America” with the aim of elevating Azerbaijan-US relations to the level of strategic partnership.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, a Strategic Working Group will be established between the two countries to draft, within a six-month period, a Strategic Partnership Charter that will serve to strengthen the strategic partnership in areas of common interest. In the Working Group, priority will be given to areas such as regional connectivity, including energy, trade and transit transport; economic investments, including artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure; as well as defense, security and the fight against terrorism. This is of particular importance in creating an institutional framework for practical bilateral cooperation.

A highlight of the visit was the Executive Order signed by the US President to extend the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, during the bilateral meeting of the two presidents. Section 907 of this act, lobbied by the Armenian-American community in the US, had banned any direct assistance from the United States to the government of Azerbaijan since 1992. This ban made Azerbaijan the only post-Soviet state that did not receive direct assistance from the US government to facilitate economic and political stability.

The abolition of this provision, a legacy with negative consequences in Azerbaijan-US relations, has a deep symbolic significance. The visit also yielded important results in the framework of the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process. A trilateral summit was held with the participation of the leaders of Azerbaijan, the United States, and Armenia, culminating in the signing of a Joint Declaration by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the US President as a witness. Furthermore, the foreign ministers of the two countries initialed the Draft Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, and signed a joint letter addressed to the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, calling for the closure of the Minsk Process and its related structures. This joint call constitutes another important step towards eliminating one of the main obstacles to peace and normalization.

The signing of the Joint Declaration in Washington reaffirmed Azerbaijan's peace agenda. Within the framework of the provision on the initialization of the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations, it was recognized that further steps are needed to achieve the signing and ratification of the Agreement. In this context, in order to enable the signing of the Agreement, the Azerbaijani side expects amendments to be made to the Constitution of Armenia to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Another important provision in the Joint Declaration is the commitment to opening transport and communication links between the two countries. It emphasizes the necessity of ensuring an unrestricted connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and its exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

The document also outlines a specific connectivity project to be implemented within the territory of Armenia: the “Trump Road to International Peace and Prosperity.” This initiative, led by the United States, aims to create a seamless connection between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of Armenia.

Also, within the framework of the visit, in the presence of the President of Azerbaijan and the Special Envoy of the US President, Mr. Steve Witkoff, a Memorandum of Cooperation between SOCAR and ExxonMobil Corporation was signed. The document aims to strengthen the existing positive relations between the companies and explore new opportunities for cooperation in assessing the oil and gas potential, both in traditional and non-traditional forms, in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Overall, the agreements reached during President Ilham Aliyev's visit to the United States and the results within the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process are of historical importance. /CNA