Robert Torricelli: “there is perhaps no greater foreign policy priority in the post-cold-war world than assisting former Communist countries…”

“there is perhaps no greater foreign policy priority in the post-cold-war world than assisting former Communist countries in making the difficult transition to democracy. The fall of the Soviet Union was not the final victory of the cold war. That will come only when all of these former adversaries embrace liberty, free markets, and the rule of law. Recognizing this, the 102nd Congress in 1992, passed the Freedom Support Act. This bill acknowledged that we can help countries make the transition to democracy both with the carrot of economic aid and the stick of withholding such assistance. It included a provision, Section 907, which mandated that with the exception of humanitarian aid, democracy-building funds, and investment assistance, Azerbaijan will not receive any direct economic aid until it ceases the blockade of neighboring Armenia and the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, since that historic moment in 1992, this provision of the Freedom Support Act has repeatedly come under fire for its scope and perceived effect on relations between the United States and Azerbaijan.”