Baku: In recent years, encouraging signs have emerged in relations between the United States and Azerbaijan, demonstrating a mutual interest in deepening cooperation, American political scientist Jason Epstein said in the latest episode of the "Azerbaijan and the World" program broadcast on the AZERTAC website.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Azerbaijan, with its significant political, economic, and strategic potential, remains a key US partner in the South Caucasus. Citing Elon Berman, an expert at the American Foreign Policy Council, Epstein emphasized that the absence of references to the South Caucasus and Central Asia in the Trump administration's National Security Strategy is more an oversight than a reflection of the reality. In practice, the region, and Azerbaijan in particular, continues to play an important role in ensuring energy security, regional stability, and expanding opportunities for international cooperation.

According to Epstein, maintaining Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act of 1992 is inconsistent with the current level and spirit of U.S.-Azerbaijan relations. Although its effect is suspended annually, its very existence is outdated and largely symbolic, inconsistent with Azerbaijan's strategic importance as a reliable U.S. partner.