Azerbaijan — the new power centre of Eurasia From Washington to Beijing

Today, Azerbaijan — a victorious nation, the leading power in the South Caucasus, and a key energy, transport, and geopolitical hub — celebrates Independence Day and the 108th anniversary of the founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. At the same time, the country’s growing influence in the global order is increasingly being recognised by the leaders of the world’s major powers, as reflected in the numerous congratulatory messages sent to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

In this context, particular attention should be paid to the congratulatory message from President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who stressed that Ankara feels “great pride and honor in the continuous strengthening of brotherly Azerbaijan and the growth of its influence both in the region and on the international stage” thanks to the skilful leadership and visionary policies of Ilham Aliyev. This wording is of particular importance, as it not only once again confirms the brotherly ties between the two countries, founded upon the immutable principle of “One Nation, Two States,” but also cements the fact that today Azerbaijan is an independent centre of power in the region.

Equally indicative were the congratulatory messages from Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif and President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, both of whom emphasised that the brotherly relations between the two countries — grounded in a shared faith, rich cultural heritage, and common values — will continue to grow stronger.

In essence, these messages point to the formation of a full-fledged strategic alliance between Baku and Islamabad, with Pakistan having consistently supported Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity throughout the entire period of the now-defunct Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Of undeniable significance is the congratulatory message from President of the United States Donald Trump, which welcomes Azerbaijan’s efforts to advance the peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan, initialled in August of last year, and also expresses confidence in the strengthening of the strategic partnership with Azerbaijan in the years and decades ahead.

“Since the historic August 2025 peace summit in Washington, we have worked together to revitalize our relationship, culminating in Vice President Vance signing our Strategic Partnership Charter with you on February 10, 2026, in Baku. We are deepening our partnership on regional connectivity, economic ties, and security cooperation, and look forward to continuing our collaboration in these areas and beyond,” the message from the White House chief states.

As follows from Donald Trump’s letter, relations between Baku and Washington are reaching an entirely new qualitative level. In other words, the United States is officially recognising Azerbaijan as one of its key partners in matters of transport connectivity, security, and economic cooperation. Moreover, this concerns not only the South Caucasus, but also the broader Eurasian architecture, further enhancing Azerbaijan’s international standing.

In this context, it is necessary to highlight the congratulatory message from President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, who emphasised in his address that cooperation between Baku and Beijing across various fields has achieved significant results:

“China and Azerbaijan are comprehensive strategic partners. Under our joint planning and leadership, China-Azerbaijan relations have reached a new level, and cooperation across various fields has yielded significant results. I attach great importance to the development of China-Azerbaijan relations and stand ready to make joint efforts with you to maintain high-level momentum in our bilateral relations for the benefit of the peoples of both countries.”

Thus, as can be seen, the Republic of Azerbaijan is today becoming one of the key elements of a new Eurasian transport architecture, a fact underscored by parallel messages from Washington and Beijing — two of the principal competitors in the modern world — addressed to Baku.

The congratulatory message from President of Russia Vladimir Putin is of no lesser significance. The Russian leader noted Azerbaijan’s impressive achievements in the economic and social spheres, and also underscored the importance of allied relations between Moscow and Baku. This is a highly important point against the backdrop of the complex processes unfolding in the region and the world today, and it demonstrates that Azerbaijan has built a model of relations with Russia based on pragmatism, mutual respect, and the protection of its own national interests.

At the same time, Baku demonstrates its ability to maintain constructive relations simultaneously with Moscow and Kyiv, as confirmed by the words of the head of the Ukrainian state Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Ukraine highly values the strategic nature of the relations between our countries and the steadfast support that Azerbaijan has extended to our state, as well as to the people of Ukraine, during this exceptionally challenging period,” the Ukrainian leader emphasised in his congratulatory letter addressed to the head of the Azerbaijani state.

In this context, the congratulatory messages from the President of Israel and the President of the State of Palestine should also be noted: President of Israel Isaac Herzog stressed that in Israel they highly value the strategically vital and dynamically developing ties with Azerbaijan, which are not limited solely to politics, as the peoples of the two countries are also connected by sincere friendly relations; Mahmoud Abbas, in turn, expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for its position on the Palestinian issue. All of this collectively reflects Baku’s unique ability to maintain balanced relations with countries that hold fundamentally opposing positions within the global political system.

Another indicator of the growing international standing of our state is the congratulatory messages from European leaders. In particular, President of France Emmanuel Macron stated in his letter his intention to continue efforts toward normalising bilateral relations and developing cooperation in the fields of the economy, culture, and education. In other words, it can be argued that official Paris is effectively acknowledging that its previous policy towards Azerbaijan led to a serious crisis in bilateral relations, and that today it is the French side that is advocating for the restoration of full-fledged dialogue with Baku.

At the same time, President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasised Berlin’s interest in expanding relations with Baku, while King of the United Kingdom Charles III highly praised the strength of bilateral ties. In turn, King of Spain Felipe VI sent a very warm message, wishing peace and prosperity to the Azerbaijani people.

Congratulatory letters were also received from the heads of Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and many other states, which reflects a simple reality: Europe sees Azerbaijan as a key strategic partner both in ensuring the energy security of the Old Continent and in the transport and logistics sphere.

Overall, the geographical scope of the congratulatory messages is extensive, allowing one to conclude that Azerbaijan today is a country that looks confidently to the future, independently defines its development strategy, and serves as one of the most important centres of stability, cooperation, and integration across the vast Eurasian space, thus becoming a state envisioned by the founding fathers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.