In a period of rapidly shifting global geopolitics, Azerbaijan is emerging as a key regional player, offering new opportunities for the United States and Europe through its energy resources, transport routes, and strategic minerals. With global competition over rare earth elements intensifying, Azerbaijan’s accession to the C5 format and expanding prospects for cooperation with Washington have drawn renewed international attention to Baku. Against this backdrop, Forbes examines how the repeal of Section 907 could reshape the U.S. strategy in the Caspian region and highlights Azerbaijan’s growing strategic importance for Washington.
Forbes notes that repealing the outdated Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act would grant the United States greater access to Azerbaijan’s substantial oil, gas, and rare earth reserves, effectively positioning Baku as a key strategic partner in the Caspian. Author Mark Temnitsky emphasizes that “Azerbaijan’s vast oil and gas reserves, along with rare earth metals that are vital for global industry and regional economies, make the country a uniquely strategic player.”
Photo credit: eurasia.org
Temnitsky adds that integrating Azerbaijan into the group of America’s key partners would allow Washington to secure additional sources of critical materials and reduce China’s global dominance over rare earth elements. “It is possible that Azerbaijan seeks to strengthen its position as an important trade and energy partner for the United States in the region. To reinforce this emerging partnership, Congress could consider repealing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act,” he writes.
The Caspian Post has also consulted local experts to assess the political and economic implications of the issue in greater depth.
Azerbaijani economist Eldaniz Amirov told The Caspian Post that despite the existence of Section 907, cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan in the energy sector has consistently continued.
Photo: Eldaniz Amirov, Azerbaijani economist
According to him, U.S. companies have long been closely involved in Azerbaijan’s major energy projects, including the Contract of the Century, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Southern Gas Corridor, and other strategic initiatives. “Although the amendment limited direct U.S. government financial and technical assistance, it did not prevent broader energy cooperation between the two countries,” the economist said.
Amirov believes that when the issue is viewed in the context of the current global energy market, the situation becomes clearer. He noted that the United States is attempting to expand its role in global energy security by pushing Europe, Türkiye, and Hungary toward dependence on U.S. energy, thereby increasing its influence over global oil and gas supply chains.
He added that the U.S., as one of the world’s largest oil producers, was constrained by Section 907 from deepening cooperation with Azerbaijan in the energy sector and from fully benefiting from Azerbaijan’s potential as a supplier. “The amendment limited deeper cooperation and institutional agreements and hindered the development of bilateral relations,” he said.
The economist stressed that even after the repeal of Section 907, the amount of U.S. government assistance to Azerbaijan remains very small compared to Azerbaijan’s own military development and investment spending. He said the amendment carried more political and symbolic weight than economic impact, and obstructed the deepening of bilateral relations. “Its repeal will therefore facilitate further progress in ties between the two countries,” he added.
Photo credit: Reuters
Amirov noted that Azerbaijan’s membership in the joint institutional format of the Central Asian republics also significantly contributes to the improvement of U.S.-Azerbaijan relations. According to him, China, Russia, and the United States are competing geopolitically in Central Asia, though the main rivalry today is between the U.S. and China. Europe, too, is actively competing for influence; as an example, he cited French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan for uranium-related interests.
“Although the South Caucasus is not the primary center of China-U.S. rivalry, it has increasingly become a geography where the interests of Europe, Türkiye, and the United States converge,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan, located both to the east of the Caspian and at its strategic center, attracts the attention of all global powers. “As its strategic importance grows, so does the interest of these powers in deepening ties with Baku,” he noted.
The economist also addressed questions about broader access to Azerbaijan’s energy and natural resources, stressing that the expansion of relations is not driven by the volume of Azerbaijan’s resources. He pointed out that Azerbaijan’s oil production is declining annually and its reserves are limited compared to those of the United States.
“The U.S. possesses energy resources hundreds of times greater than those of Azerbaijan. While Azerbaijan has certain natural resources, the main focus of relations is not resources but rather the region itself, logistics, and geopolitical competition with China,” he said.
According to him, the main U.S. objective is not the South Caucasus’ resources but strengthening the region’s logistical significance and reducing China’s influence there.
Amirov believes that Azerbaijan’s potential to become a major supplier of strategic materials to Europe and the United States is also limited. Despite growth in gas production, volumes remain modest, and Azerbaijan currently supplies only about 2 percent of Europe’s demand. “Today, roughly 10-11 billion cubic meters of gas are exported to Europe, while Europe’s total demand is 500 billion cubic meters,” he emphasized.
In conclusion, the expert said that Azerbaijan, located at the crossroads of East and West, has become a highly influential country in both the Caucasus and Central Asia. He added that Azerbaijan’s role in shaping decisions among the Caucasus and Central Asian republics has increased. “Any country seeking to strengthen its presence in the Caspian region must elevate its political relations with Azerbaijan,” the economist said.
Matin Mammadli, a senior advisor at the Baku-based Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center), told The Caspian Post that the repeal of Section 907 would significantly expand the United States’ access to Azerbaijan’s energy and natural resources.
Photo: Matin Mammadli, a senior advisor at the Baku-based Center of Analysis of International Relations
According to him, the implementation of Section 907 has already been suspended, and most recently, at the Washington summit, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the corresponding executive order.
“Formally, the amendment has not yet been fully repealed, and for this to happen, the U.S. Congress, which adopted the amendment in the first place, must legally abolish it entirely. The repeal of Section 907 serves to advance U.S.-Azerbaijan relations at all levels, deepen cooperation, and open broader access to energy and natural resources,” he said.
Mammadli added that the adoption and long-term enforcement of Section 907 seriously affected U.S.-Azerbaijan relations and hindered the growth of cooperation between the two countries.
“This document also prevented the United States from strengthening its position in the South Caucasus,” he said, noting that after Azerbaijan restored its independence and the region’s countries became independent subjects of international law following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. developed geopolitical, geoeconomic, and strategic interests in the South Caucasus.
“However, this biased and unfair document, adopted in the autumn of 1992, negatively affected bilateral relations and hindered America’s ability to strengthen its presence in the region,” he said.
The adviser believes that the amendment was, in essence, an irrational step that did not serve U.S. interests. “Section 907 did not correspond even to the strategic interests of the United States itself. It is noteworthy that the Trump administration has taken a more rational approach to this issue and concrete steps toward its full repeal.”
He added that Azerbaijan is a key, leading state in the region, and anti-Azerbaijani decisions once adopted in the U.S. Congress were fundamentally flawed from the perspective of America’s long-term interests.
Commenting on whether Azerbaijan could become a major supplier of strategic materials to the U.S. and Europe in the coming years, Mammadli emphasized that the country’s geographic position provides a significant advantage, making Azerbaijan one of the main suppliers of strategic materials to Western partners. “Azerbaijan serves as a bridge between East and West. It plays a decisive role in transporting Central Asia’s abundant resources, bypassing Russia and Iran, to Europe. In this sense, Azerbaijan is the gateway to Central Asia for the West, especially for the United States,” he said.
The expert noted that Central Asia is one of the richest regions in the world in terms of mineral resources, including large uranium deposits, platinum group metals, and other strategic materials, for which global demand has increased significantly in recent years.
“One of the key factors that bolsters Azerbaijan’s geostrategic importance is precisely its role as a bridge between Central Asia and the West,” he added.
Mammadli recalled that prominent American geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski once described Azerbaijan as the pivotal state of the region, playing an irreplaceable role, particularly in terms of access to Central Asia. He said this view still resonates within the U.S. political establishment and current government circles, and recognition of Azerbaijan’s importance continues to grow.
He also noted that Azerbaijan and the Central Asian region are currently drawing closer institutionally, forming an increasingly unified geopolitical and geoeconomic space. “This process is highly significant and attractive for both the United States and the West. In exporting Central Asian resources to the West, this integration plays a major and growing role,” Mammadli said.
