By Mariam Levina, Liana Khudoyan

The United States Congress responded to Azerbaijan's war of aggression against the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Armenia in 1992 by passing Amendment 907 to the Freedom Support Act. The amendment restricts military aid to Azerbaijan and allows only humanitarian aid to that country until Baku takes steps to lift the blockade on Armenia and Karabakh and use force.

However, Amendment 907, which was passed by Congress in 2002, authorized the president of the United States to suspend the act. 

U.S. presidents have invariably exercised this right ever since. The data on the financial aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan from 2001 to 2021 is publicly available. 

Thus, over the 20 years, it was allocated the following:

2001:

• to Armenia $101,498,217 ($2.47M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $36,065,474 ($8.081M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2002

• to Armenia $85,420,663 ($11,67M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $55,912,969 ($19.48M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2003

• to Armenia $84,403,846 ($7.919M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $63,855,581 ($13.24M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2004:

• to Armenia $75,008,952 ($5.615M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $61,753,547 ($9,623M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2005:

• to Armenia $77,760,900 ($12.02M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $66,925,491 ($19.28M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2006:

• to Armenia $318,485,494 ($117M - Unallocated/Unspecified, $9,434M - Conflict, Peace, and Security) 
• to Azerbaijan $57,047,444 ($9.59M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2007:

• to Armenia $77,875,182 ($5.339M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $58,648,172 ($4.751M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2008:

• to Armenia $69,871,152 ($6.775M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $41,689,409 ($7,203M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2009:

• to Armenia $61,063,165 ($6.417M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $55,711,072 ($18.63M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2010:

• to Armenia $53,435,276 ($8,005M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $55,316,017 ($15.27M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2011:

• to Armenia $65,199,321 ($25.29M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $79,644,607 ($41.65M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2012:

• to Armenia $1,436,063 out of $22.71M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $58,183,972 ($30.08M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2013:

• to Armenia $55,798,428 ($22.59M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $37,047,476 ($18.35M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2014:

• to Armenia $68,455,535 ($35.56M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $63,343,404 ($47.68M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2015:

• to Armenia $50,290,527 ($12M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $31,770,490 ($15.82M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2016:

• to Armenia $21,705,306 ($2.127M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $15,232,388 ($2,917M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2017:

• to Armenia $32,368,264 ($5.81M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $17,728,424 ($5.624M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2018:

• to Armenia $37,855,337 ($11.6M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $29,689,270 ($16.32M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2019:

• to Armenia $41,105,055 ($7.268M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $30,428,626 ($18.12M - Conflict, Peace, and Security)

2020:

• to Armenia $66,699,564 ($16.47M - Conflict, Peace and Security)
• to Azerbaijan $32,357,135 ($11.23M - Conflict, Peace and Security)

2021:

• to Armenia $35,878,166 (no data from Defense Deparment)
• to Azerbaijan $10,756,145 ($100,000 - Conflict, Peace and Security)

As can be seen from the data presented above, while overall aid to Armenia is greater than that allocated to oil- and gas-rich Azerbaijan by the U.S., military, aid under Conflict, Peace and Security and provided through the Department of Defense is either equal or even greater.

For example, in 2009 Armenia received $6.417M, while Azerbaijan got $18.63M, three times more that Armenia. In 2010 Armenia received $8.005M, while Azerbaijan got $15.27M, twice as much as Armenia.  In 2011 Armenia received $25.29M, while Azerbaijan got $41.65M.

Azerbaijan's military aggression in April 2016 did not change Washington's policy either - both countries received slightly more than $5 million in 2017. A year later, Azerbaijan received $5 million more, and in 2019 Armenia received $7.268M, Azerbaijan $18.12M, more than double that.

It turns out that due to the suspension of the 907th amendment the U.S. sent $360 million to Azerbaijan through the Defense Department.

That is, Baku could use the money for defense purposes. For instance, to purchase Turkish UAVs.