Trump signals interest: Baku emerging as key regional ally Article by Israel National News

Israel National News – Arutz Sheva has published an article exploring Azerbaijan’s potential role in expanding the Abraham Accords. The article features insights from Joseph Epstein, senior analyst at the Turan Research Center at the Yorktown Institute, who highlights Azerbaijan’s unique position as a longstanding partner of Israel and the United States. Caliber.Az republishes the article.

“In light of growing discussions about expanding the Abraham Accords, Joseph Epstein, a senior analyst at the Turan Research Center at the Yorktown Institute, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that Azerbaijan is uniquely positioned to join the peace framework due to its deep and longstanding ties with Israel. 

'When [US] President Donald Trump shared a clip of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s speech at the Shusha Global Media Forum on Truth Social, it wasn’t just a friendly gesture,” Epstein explained. 'It signaled that Azerbaijan’s partnership with Israel and the United States is now firmly on his radar. In the video, Aliyev calls Trump a leader who ends wars, says they share core values such as family values, and wishes him success, especially when it comes to ‘draining the swamp.’ Trump rarely shares videos of foreign leaders, which makes this moment stand out and shows that people around him increasingly view Baku as central to the region’s next phase.'

According to Epstein, Israel and Azerbaijan have cultivated strategic cooperation for more than three decades, even amid political shifts in the Middle East and flare-ups between Israel and the Palestinians.

'Aliyev has managed to balance ties with both Ankara and Jerusalem. Azerbaijan has even hosted multiple rounds of talks between Turkey and Israel on Syria to cool tensions,' he said. 'That kind of diplomatic steadiness makes Azerbaijan a natural candidate for the Abraham Accords.'

Epstein further noted that Azerbaijan’s inclusion in the Accords would carry far-reaching implications for Central Asia: 'Bringing Azerbaijan into the framework would send a clear message to other Muslim-majority states in the region, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, that open cooperation with Israel is not only possible but worthwhile,' he argued. 

At the same time, Epstein cautioned against linking Azerbaijan’s entry to unrelated conditions. For instance, the idea of including both Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Accords contingent on their signing a peace agreement would be unhelpful for both the mission of the accords and the regional peace process in the South Caucasus, he noted.

'The accords are devoted to setting up a bloc of Muslim nations with warm relations with Israel and devoted to both tolerance and fighting extremism. Armenia is not relevant to such a goal,' he explained. 'Meanwhile, the South Caucasus peace process has traditionally only been complicated by outside players with their own interests. Breakthrough has often been made when Baku and Yerevan hold talks directly. Adding in an irrelevant Israeli-Muslim peace initiative is unlikely to help. Attaching Baku’s membership to a peace agreement with Armenia would undercut the spirit of the Accords.'

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, echoed Epstein’s assessment in the interview: 'Azerbaijan has proven its friendship to the Jewish people both in words and deeds,' Rabbi Hier stated. 'President Aliyev has repeatedly emphasized that respect for Jews is part of Azerbaijan’s national identity, and his policies have consistently reflected that. I believe President Trump should recognize Azerbaijan as a genuine ally and a bridge between East and West, without imposing unnecessary conditions. Bringing Baku into the Accords would simply acknowledge a reality that already exists.'

Epstein concluded by stressing that this is a strategic opportunity for all parties involved.

'Adding Azerbaijan would deepen the pragmatic framework of the Accords, strengthen Israel’s regional position, and highlight the fact that cooperation between Muslim and Jewish nations is already a reality,' he said. 'The key now is to formalize it, amplify it, and avoid side deals that might dilute the core spirit or success of the Accords,'” the article reads.