US analyst says Azerbaijan emerging as “rising power” in South Caucasus

Glen Howard, President of the Saratoga Foundation (USA), has described Azerbaijan as a “rising power” in the South Caucasus, citing a year of significant diplomatic and economic progress following high-level talks hosted by the United States.

Speaking to Azertag on the anniversary of the August 8, 2025 White House meeting involving the leaders of the United States, Azerbaijan and Armenia, Howard said: “I believe that the past year has been a period of great success in relations. Currently, starting from the meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia at the White House, the process is developing in a positive direction.”

He pointed to the visit of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance to Baku as a key follow-up development, underscoring Washington’s growing engagement with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

“Obviously, the United States is drawing closer to both Azerbaijan and Armenia. The ‘Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity’ (TRIPP) will strengthen the U.S. presence in the South Caucasus in terms of economic cooperation and will play a significant role in further expanding the economic ties of the Caspian region with Türkiye. Of course, there is currently a war around Iran. But it is possible that this war will soon end and a process of normalisation will begin. In that case, all countries in the region will benefit from expanding economic ties,” he said.

Howard added that Azerbaijan stands to gain economically from emerging transit routes across the region, noting Baku’s role in facilitating these developments.

“All this will bring Azerbaijan exclusively economic benefits. Transit routes that will pass through the region will benefit Baku. And Baku is facilitating this process. Overall, Azerbaijan’s relations with the region are at an unprecedentedly high level. That is why Azerbaijan is a rising power in the South Caucasus. This is very important from the perspective of regional relations as a whole. The United States is also consistently deepening its relations with Azerbaijan. Many of the obstacles that previously hindered these relations have already been removed. The application of restrictions under Section 907 has also been suspended. I hope that in the future we will see the complete and final removal of this amendment. Thus, the trajectory of U.S.-Azerbaijan relations over the past year has indeed been remarkable. I believe these relations will continue to develop further,” he added.

By Tamilla Hasanova