In 1992 , the U.S. Congress adopted Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act , which banned any direct U.S. aid to the government of Azerbaijan . The ban made Azerbaijan the only exception to the Post-Soviet states receiving U.S. government aid for facilitating economic and political stability . Passage of Section 907 was influenced by the powerful Armenian American lobby in the U.S. Congress , in response to the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on Armenia in the course of the Nagorno-Karabakh War . Azerbaijanis consider this legislation to be '' unfair '' as , during the same period of time , Armenian forces took control of the fifth of Azerbaijani territory , including Nagorno-Karabakh . Consecutive George H.W. Bush , Clinton and George W. Bush administrations opposed Section 907 , viewing it as an impediment to impartial U.S. foreign policy in the region and an obstacle to the U.S. role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict mediation efforts . In her 1998 letter to the House Appropriations Committee chairman , Bob Livingston , then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote : After the September 11 attacks in 2001 , Congress passed the foreign appropriations legislation of 2002 , granting President the right to waive Section 907 . In view of Azerbaijan 's contribution and support for the US military operations in Afghanistan , President George W. Bush waived the section in January 2002 ; and President Barack Obama further extended that waiver
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Azerbaijan–United States relations