Baku: Key platform for resolving Middle Eastern issues Experts on Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Azerbaijan

Against the backdrop of efforts to resolve the crisis in relations between Türkiye and Israel, the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Azerbaijan is expected soon, reports Israel Hayom.

Netanyahu will visit Baku in the first half of May. The visit will focus on discussing regional security issues, including the situation in Syria and Türkiye's military presence there, as well as strengthening bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, The Times of Israel reported, citing government sources.

According to the publication, the visit comes amid recent "technical negotiations" in Baku between high-ranking Israeli and Turkish delegations aimed at preventing military clashes between the two countries on Syrian territory.

President Ilham Aliyev has also held separate meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Julani), making Netanyahu's visit a logical continuation of these diplomatic efforts.

Moreover, the visit will take place amid the resumption of nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The agenda will also include discussions on Azerbaijan’s possible joining of the Abraham Accords, expanding bilateral ties with Israel, and enhancing Baku’s influence in Central Asia.

The meeting will take place after the visit of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, during which Azerbaijan expressed its readiness to act as a mediator in stabilising the situation in the region, reports Ynet.

The U.S. and Israel view President Ilham Aliyev as a unique politician capable of overcoming differences between key regional players.

Prominent experts shared their thoughts on this matter with Caliber.Az.

Member of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis (parliament), political analyst Rasim Musabayov noted that the subject of the negotiations will be the strengthening of the partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan.

"This partnership exists, it is developing and deepening. It includes components related to security. This includes the exchange of intelligence, the supply of weapons to Azerbaijan, and the supply of Azerbaijani oil to Israel.

Our cooperation is also expanding in such very important areas as agriculture, healthcare, and the digital economy. SOCAR is involved in the development of gas fields on Israel’s shelf.

All of this demonstrates that our relations are deepening, and in this sense, Netanyahu’s visit to Azerbaijan has, so to speak, a bilateral platform.

I do not exclude that during this visit, the possible role of Azerbaijan in reducing the tension that has arisen between Israel, Türkiye, and Syria will also be considered.

The context of Iran is also very important, undoubtedly. These issues will clearly be discussed, and that is very important," the parliamentarian believes.

At the same time, Musabayov is sceptical about the potential joining of Azerbaijan to the expanded Abraham Accords.

"First of all, they were previously signed by Israel with Semitic Arab states with which it had no diplomatic relations. Essentially, they have not progressed beyond mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations, whereas Azerbaijani-Israeli relations have gone much further than these Abraham Accords.

Therefore, Azerbaijan likely has no need to sign them when we already have full diplomatic and trade-economic relations with Israel, covering sensitive areas such as security.

As for proposals regarding some trilateral format or an expanded Abraham Accords involving the U.S., this raises questions. Such an agreement would undoubtedly be perceived by Iran and Türkiye as being directed against them.

This will not enhance Azerbaijan's security, but rather create additional tension in the region.

So, I don't see much sense in this for Azerbaijan. Most likely, Baku will continue to develop relations with Israel in a bilateral format. In cases where we can offer good services to our ally Türkiye and our strategic partner Israel to reduce tension and resolve misunderstandings, I believe Azerbaijan will do so," Musabayov emphasised.

Israeli journalist and historian Shimon Briman, in turn, noted that Azerbaijan is becoming an important platform for stabilising and resolving issues in the Middle East.

"A platform that is perceived as neutral by a wide range of players with opposing interests. First and foremost, this concerns the establishment of new 'rules of the game' in Syria, where, after the fall of Assad’s regime, the threat of direct military confrontation between the armies of Türkiye and Israel emerged," Briman explained.

He reminded that in early April, during a meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and U.S. President Donald Trump, the latter promised to personally facilitate reconciliation between Erdogan and Netanyahu.

"It is against this backdrop that Baku appears as a platform for dialogue between Türkiye and Israel. Both countries are not interested in military confrontation, but they need to discuss the technical details of coexistence in Syria.

Azerbaijan can help develop a new status quo in Syria. President Ilham Aliyev is capable of acting as a mediator between the two friendly countries for Azerbaijan. The framework created with Baku's mediation could include agreements in the style of 'you don't enter here, and we won't enter there; you don't strike here, and we don't strike there.'

If Baku succeeds, Azerbaijan's authority will significantly increase in the eyes of Trump. The country will gain the status of the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East and the South Caucasus.’

Another important topic of the visit will be the development of bilateral military-economic relations.

Since 2009, after Netanyahu came to power, a strategic partnership with Azerbaijan began, actively supported by Avigdor Lieberman.

Over the past 16 years, Azerbaijan’s military has been modernised, including with the support of Israel. For Israel’s defence industry, Azerbaijan remains one of its most important customers.

This level of cooperation exists only between Israel and the U.S., as well as between Israel and Azerbaijan.

Netanyahu’s visit will also address the strategically significant issue of the Iranian nuclear program. Resolving this problem will change the entire region from the Mediterranean to India. Netanyahu has made it a priority. Azerbaijan’s interests in these plans will certainly be taken into account.

I think this issue will become the most confidential part of the negotiations between Benjamin Netanyahu and Ilham Aliyev in May 2025 in Baku," Briman concluded.