Israeli media: Trump eyes Azerbaijan, Central Asia for Abraham Accords expansion

US President Donald Trump’s administration is in advanced discussions with Azerbaijan and exploring talks with some Central Asian nations about joining the Abraham Accords, five sources familiar with the matter told Israeli media.

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 and 2021 during Trump’s first term, saw four Muslim-majority countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — normalise relations with Israel after US mediation.

Unlike those nations, Azerbaijan and all Central Asian states already have diplomatic relations with Israel, meaning any accession would be largely symbolic, focusing on boosting trade and military cooperation, the sources said.

The push reflects Trump’s openness to deals less ambitious than persuading Saudi Arabia to restore ties with Israel, a goal complicated by the war in Gaza. Riyadh has said it will not recognise Israel without progress toward a Palestinian state.

The conflict, in which over 60,000 people have been killed according to unverified Hamas-controlled health ministry figures, has sparked global anger, with Canada, France and the UK recently announcing plans to recognise an independent Palestine.

A key obstacle for Azerbaijan’s participation is its unresolved conflict with Armenia, with three sources saying the Trump administration sees a peace deal between the two neighbours as a precondition. “Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there,” Trump told reporters in July. “And it’s pretty close.”

Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, visited Baku in March to meet President Ilham Aliyev, followed by Witkoff aide Aryeh Lightstone later in the spring, three sources said. Azerbaijani officials have also sounded out Kazakhstan and possibly other Central Asian states about a broader expansion.

The State Department declined to name countries but said: “We are working to get more countries to join,” according to a US official. The Azerbaijani government, the White House, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Kazakhstan’s embassy in Washington did not comment.

While two sources described Central Asia talks as preliminary, discussions with Azerbaijan are considered more advanced. Still, slow progress in Yerevan–Baku negotiations could delay any deal.

Azerbaijan, situated between Russia and Iran, serves as a crucial transit route between Central Asia and the West, and is rich in oil and gas. Expanding the accords to states already linked to Israel may offer Trump a symbolic foreign policy win as he seeks to project US and Israeli influence in the region.

By Aghakazim Guliyev