Envoy: Azerbaijan seeks deeper US ties after peace declaration with Armenia

Azerbaijan is looking to expand its security and technology cooperation with the United States following a peace declaration with Armenia brokered by the Trump administration, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States Khazar Ibrahim told the Axios portal.

According to Ibrahim, the South Caucasus nation, positioned between Russia and Iran, has long been viewed in Washington as strategically important. Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas exporter and maintains a capable military. It has also cooperated with the U.S. in the past, including by providing overflight and refuelling rights during the global war on terror.

But relations have often been complicated by Azerbaijan’s decades-long conflict with neighbouring Armenia, which has an influential diaspora in the U.S. Wars between the two countries since the collapse of the Soviet Union have killed thousands and displaced many more.

Previous ceasefires repeatedly broke down, and Armenia accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh after Baku’s 2023 military offensive.

Against that backdrop, Ibrahim said the recent peace declaration has opened the door to resetting ties with Washington. “Work on setting up working groups and developing relations in every direction: economy, energy, defence, political, and education. You name it. Technology, AI,” he said. “Let’s open a new page. Let’s work together, and not only Armenia-Azerbaijan, but also let’s have Azerbaijan-U.S. relations develop.”

The ambassador credited President Donald Trump with pushing the process forward, arguing his leadership proved decisive. “Within this very short period of time — like six months — he managed to do what others couldn’t do for more than 30 years,” Ibrahim said. He added that Trump “101%” deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his role.

He also pointed to the contribution of Steve Witkoff, the White House’s special envoy, who visited Azerbaijan in March as peace talks gathered momentum. “It’s always critical, in any negotiations, especially in very difficult peace negotiations, to have very strong political will by a very strong global leader,” Ibrahim said. “That’s what we got this time.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev