FINAL DECISION TO WAIVE SECTION 907 TO BE MADE AFTER IT IS CLEAR WHETHER AZERBAIJAN STAYS IN CE OR NOT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The final decision on waiver of Section 907 will already be made after the results of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe hearings on Azerbaijan failure to fulfill its obligations are known. Let us remind that some Baku mass media have expressed a supposition that President Bush's predisposition to protract the procedure of repeal of sanctions against Azerbaijan is just due to the desire to wait until PACE returns its verdict. In their opinion, Bush is afraid to find himself in an awkward situation in case he repeals sanctions against Azerbaijan, while the Council of Europe, on the contrary, imposes them. Nevertheless, the President has already signed a document beginning the procedure, which is necessary to resolve the question of temporary prohibition of rendering aid to Azerbaijan. Designing and passing the executive memorandum on repeal of Section 907 should become the next move. The general legal section of the Department of State should prepare a document on temporary veto on application of sanctions, in which the expediency of this step is to be substantiated. After being signed by Secretary of State Colin Powell the document will be passed to signature by President, and will only be received by the Congress after that. After being registered in the Congress, Section 907 will officially be considered repealed until the end of 2002. The entire procedure will take no less that two to three weeks. Meanwhile in ten days it will become known whether Azerbaijan will remain full member of the Council of Europe or it will be expelled from the organization for reluctance to fulfill the obligations undertaken.