Fact sheet

• Population- 10,353,296 (2022)
• Capital- Baku
• System of government- Presidential Republic
• President: Ilham Aliyev
• Majority language- Azerbaijani
• Majority religion- Islam
• GDP per capita- $13,700 (2020)
• Global Freedom Score: Okay 9/100
• Gini Index: 26.6 (2018, most recent available data)

History of relations

The United States recognized Azerbaijan as an independent state in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union and established diplomatic relations the following year. Shortly after independence, fighting escalated between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. USAID provided humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the conflict. In 1997, the first official visit to the United States by the President of Azerbaijan took place. 

 Strategic Interests

• Energy security: Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea is an important source of energy. The United States supports the development of pipelines transporting energy from Azerbaijan to European and other international markets, which would help countries reduce their energy dependence on Russia. A new ambassadorial position was created at the State Department to coordinate energy policy in the region and to advise the President. The pipelines form a part of a new transportation corridor in the South Caucasus region and US officials have promoted the transportation corridor at various capitals and conferences. 
• Security cooperation and counter-terrorism: After the September 11th attacks, Azerbaijan granted the United States the use of its airspace for its military campaign in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan is the only Muslim-majority partner of NATO in Afghanistan and has provided critical transportation passage with approximately 40% of cargo meant for NATO troops going through Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has also sent peacekeepers to Iraq and has served an important role in US efforts to combat Iran’s influence such as allowing the U.S. to conduct espionage and cracking down on Shiites loyal to Iran. 
• Economic ties: Azerbaijan is the largest trading partner of the U.S. in the South Caucasus. US exports to Azerbaijan supported an estimated 3,000 jobs in 2015 according to the Department of Commerce. Azerbaijan is also a beneficiary of the United States’s Generalized System of Preferences System, which incentivizes investors to produce in Azerbaijan and export certain products duty-free to the U.S. market.

Role of the Armenian-American lobby

The United States has a large and politically active Armenian-American population that has influenced US policy towards Azerbaijan. The Armenian National Committee of America, which is the largest and most influential Armenian-American political organization, has advocated prohibiting the sending of U.S. military equipment or technology to Azerbaijan and opposition to any preferential trade or tax treatment to Azerbaijan. They have also achieved political successes such as legislative limits on U.S. defense sales or transfers to Azerbaijan and stopping a nomination for the position of U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Some US politicians such as Congressman Adam Schiff are critical of Azerbaijan. Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act limited U.S. assistance for Azerbaijan. The large Armenian population in the United States has led Azerbaijan to view the United States as a biased negotiator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

State of relations today

Despite the common interests, relations between Azerbaijan and the United States along with other Western countries have become more strained recently. One reason is criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record. Azerbaijan has been criticized by the U.S. State Department for various violations such as its attacks on media freedom and suppression of political opposition. Azerbaijan is also in dispute with the OSCE Minsk Group, which helps to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. For example, Azerbaijan has been frustrated that the OSCE Minsk Group hadn’t demanded the full withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh. The United States has recently become more disengaged from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group was not afforded the rank of Ambassador during the Trump Administration. The Trump Administration’s actions regarding the recent fighting was criticized by then-candidate Biden during the presidential campaign in 2020. Azerbaijan’s swift retaking of Karabakh and the shelling of civilians during the recent fighting in the region has caused unease particularly in the U.S. Congress. Although the U.S. was predicted to curtail security assistance to Azerbaijan, the Biden Administration recently waived Section 907 and allowed for security assistance. The fact that the U.S. has not played an active role in the conflict is claimed to have benefitted Russia and damaged its relationship with Azerbaijan, as shown by the fact that Russia brokered a ceasefire agreement that halted the recent fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and allowed for the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region.  

Differing perspectives

Azerbaijan’s relations with the United States have received criticism. One criticism is that Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev is a dangerous figure due to his cooperation with and tolerance towards Jihadis in Syria as well as his hostile views towards Armenia, which could serve as a destabilizing factor in the fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The country is also criticized for its close foreign policy ties with Turkey’s president Recyp Tayyip Erdogan, which could undermine the ability of the U.S. to use Azerbaijan for its strategic interests. Turkey and Azerbaijan share a close relationship with each other that has been referred to as “two states, one nation”. The United States along with other Western countries have been criticized for ignoring the corruption and political repression of Azerbaijan’s government in favor of close cooperation, which is referred to as “caviar diplomacy”.

On the other hand, supporters claim that Azerbaijan has contributed positively to the national security of the U.S. and is a pro-Western country that serves as an ideal partner for security issues in the region due to the aforementioned cooperation on security and counter-terrorism. Azerbaijan has also been praised by supporters for its friendly relations with Israel and for being a secular Muslim country in contrast to neighboring Iran. This is in contrast to Armenia, which is aligned with Russia as an economic and military partner and Iran, which shares a common distrust towards Azerbaijan’s friendly relations with Israel and the West.