In a striking signal of shifting regional dynamics, former U.S. President Donald Trump shared a video of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Truth Social, marking what analysts are calling a potential breakthrough in expanding the Abraham Accords eastward. The video, taken from Aliyev’s speech at the Shusha Global Media Forum, featured the Azerbaijani leader praising Trump as a “leader who ends wars,” emphasizing shared values like family and governance, and wishing him success in his campaign to “drain the swamp.”
According to journalist Michael Jankelowitz, writing in The Jerusalem Post, Aliyev’s remarks are more than diplomatic niceties. They reflect three decades of strategic, stable cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel, and a longstanding yet quiet alliance with Washington. Trump’s rare decision to amplify a foreign leader’s voice publicly is being seen as a sign that Azerbaijan’s regional role is gaining new recognition in U.S. foreign policy circles.
A Strategic Fit for the Abraham Accords
The article argues that Azerbaijan’s consistency in balancing ties with both Ankara and Jerusalem makes it a natural candidate for joining the Abraham Accords — the landmark peace agreement originally signed at the White House in September 2020 by Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain under Trump’s mediation.
Over the years, Azerbaijan has hosted multiple rounds of Israeli-Turkish diplomatic talks, particularly focused on Syria, proving itself a discreet and effective backchannel partner. This diplomatic maturity, combined with its secular Shia Muslim identity, positions it uniquely among Muslim-majority nations seeking modernization, regional peace, and pragmatic alliances.
A Message to Central Asia — and Tehran
Joseph Epstein, of the Turan Research Center at the Yorktown Institute, notes that Azerbaijan’s inclusion would send a powerful message to other Muslim-majority states in Central Asia — particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan — that open cooperation with Israel is not only possible but beneficial.
Additionally, Azerbaijan’s alignment with both Israel and Turkey, while maintaining independence from Iran’s theocratic influence, presents a challenge to Tehran, which views the secular Shia republic as a geopolitical irritant and ideological contradiction.
However, Epstein cautions against tying Azerbaijan’s potential entry to extraneous conditions, such as progress on peace with Armenia. He argues that the spirit of the Abraham Accords — based on pragmatism, religious tolerance, and rejecting extremism — should not be compromised by unrelated conflicts that belong on separate diplomatic tracks.
A Bridge Between East and West
Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the rabbi who gave the benediction at Trump’s 2017 inauguration, echoed this sentiment. He emphasized that Azerbaijan has consistently supported its Jewish community, both rhetorically and through public policy. Hier called on Trump to take a bold step by formally welcoming Baku into the Abraham Accords, describing Azerbaijan as a “genuine ally” and a “bridge between East and West.”
Formalizing a Reality
The article concludes with a call to action: Azerbaijan’s partnership with Israel is already real — the task now is to formalize and amplify it. Inclusion in the Abraham Accords would not only deepen the framework’s credibility but also affirm that Jewish-Muslim cooperation is thriving, even beyond the traditional Middle East.
The expansion of the Accords to include Azerbaijan would send a powerful message — that peace, mutual respect, and strategic cooperation are not tied to geography, but to vision.
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