Azerbaijan positioned to join Abraham Accords as Baku–Jerusalem ties deepen Article by Martin Sherman from The Times of Israel

Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel has published an article dedicated to Azerbaijani-Israeli relations. Caliber.Az reprints the adapted version of the article.

From the Editors: The author of the article, Martin Sherman, is the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies, a member of the research team of the Israel Defense & Security Forum (IDSF)-Habithonistim, and a participant in the Israel Victory Project. He served for seven years in operational capacities in the Israeli Defense establishment and was a ministerial adviser to Yitzhak Shamir's government.

The Abraham Accords were the greatest foreign policy accomplishment of Trump’s first administration; he has made it clear that his new administration will seek to expand them- Forbes, March 8, 2025. 

Two recent media reports underscored the emerging international stature of the Caucasian Republic of Azerbaijan and its ties to Israel.

The first related to the growing involvement of Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR)  in Israel’s energy sector, entailing SOCAR’s first drilling operations outside of Azerbaijan.

The second related to a visit by senior Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in Azerbaijan. This took place after endorsement by both PM Netanyahu and a group of prominent rabbis. The rabbis, including the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, urged including Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords framework and for the bolstering of a trilateral alliance between Washington, Jerusalem, and Baku.

Burgeoning bilateral bonds

Interestingly, the breakup of the USSR gave rise to another unpredicted event of far-reaching strategic impact. This involves a burgeoning strategic axis between former Soviet republic, Azerbaijan and Israel, which for decades was locked in bitter hostility with the USSR.

The relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel began in 1992, soon after Azerbaijan attained independence from the USSR, when the two countries set up diplomatic ties. The relations continued to strengthen, and in March 2023, Baku opened its embassy in Israel, formalizing three decades of diplomatic ties between the countries.

Since the 1990s, Azerbaijan has played a considerable role in bolstering Israel’s security and enhancing its access to energy. Baku reportedly supplies up to 60% of Israel’s gasoline consumption. Additionally, both countries maintain strong cooperation in defense, intelligence, and trade.

During the 2023 Israel- Hamas conflict, Azerbaijan was reportedly the only Muslim-majority country supporting Israel. Despite pressure from other Islamic nations, the Azerbaijani leadership maintained its strategic partnership with the Jewish state. Indeed, after the October 7 attacks, Azerbaijan citizens gathered around the Israeli Embassy in Baku, expressing support and sympathy with flowers and memorial candles.

Azerbaijan and the Jews: Warm external and benign internal relations

Azerbaijan’s warm relations with the Jewish state are mirrored in a generally benign relationship with its Jewish community in the country. Israel’s Ambassador to Baku recently remarked, “Jews in Azerbaijan have lived in harmony and tolerance with the rest of society for centuries.” Indeed, at a recent special session of US Congress, the rabbi of Baku’s Sephardic community declared that “Jews in Azerbaijan have never encountered anti-Semitism. The government considers any threat to Jews as a threat to national stability”. He went on to emphasize that in Azerbaijan, Jews can walk the streets freely, displaying their Jewishness without fear.

Just before the October 7 attack, an article, based on an earlier interview with Israel’s ambassador, noted that Azerbaijan is home to the largest Jewish community in the Muslim-majority world and a bastion of safety for Jews, with hardly any sign of antisemitism. As opposed to numerous other countries–even in the West–there is no need for security details at synagogues and Jewish schools.

Augmenting the Abraham Accords

In light of the foregoing analysis, it is hardly surprising that a growing number of voices are calling for widening the framework of the Abraham Accords to include Azerbaijan. Indeed, it is not easy to identify any persuasive argument to oppose such a proposal.

After all, as a recent Forbes article observed: “The Abraham Accords, the normalization of relations between Israel and several majority Muslim states, [were] the greatest foreign policy accomplishment of Donald J. Trump’s first administration. As his second term takes off, the president has made it clear that his administration will seek an expansion of this groundbreaking framework.”

It continues: “One Muslim-majority country that already has a longstanding partnership with Israel and is an obvious candidate to join the Accords framework is Azerbaijan “.

In similar vein, an Atlantic Council piece urged adjoining Azerbaijan to the Abraham Accords, even proposing holding an Abraham Accords summit in Baku.

It concludes, stating: “Should the United States take the same approach as Israel and deepen its diplomatic, economic, and security ties with Azerbaijan, it may reap similar geopolitical rewards.”

Of course, should such an initiative bear fruit, it would comprise a daunting—even ominous development for Iran, a menacing common adversary not only for the US, Azerbaijan, Israel, but also for other members of the Abraham Accords—especially in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.

Archetypal positive-sum game

In recent decades, it is fair to state that Israel’s foreign policy has—to be charitable—been often defective. But when it comes to the decision to initiate and cultivate the relationship with Azerbaijan, Israel’s policymakers must be commended for laudable foresight and the formulation of what is emerging as an archetypal positive sum game for all involved.

By Aghakazim Guliyev