Azerbaijan and Armenia quietly drift away from Moscow and closer to Washington after Trump peace deal, The Washington Times writes
The Trump-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is reshaping the South Caucasus and advancing U.S. strategic interests, The Washington Times writes.
The Washington Accords, signed in August, opened critical transport corridors and deepened U.S. partnerships in a region long dominated by Russia and Iran.
“The Trump administration demonstrated a lot of dedication to our agenda of peace,” said Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“Azerbaijan matters strategically because it is the only country in the world that borders Russia and Iran,” said Brenda Shaffer, a faculty member at the Naval Postgraduate School. “Israel and Azerbaijan have a real strategic alliance.”
The Azerbaijan-Israel connection doesn’t sit well with critics such as Sen. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat. Mr. Schiff has been skeptical of treating Azerbaijan as a strategic partner.
The governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia recognize Russia as the common problem, regional analysts say. Reducing dependence on Russian-owned infrastructure has become central to making peace durable.
“The real strategic problem for both Armenia and Azerbaijan today is Russia, not each other,” Ms. Shaffer said.
Referring to Azerbaijan-US relations, Hajiyev said: “Both governments, Azerbaijan and Armenia, are making an uphill struggle of strengthening the peace. But some in Congress are introducing completely unnecessary and divisive legislative acts.”
“With the Biden and Blinken administration, unfortunately, we had a lot of misunderstanding, and they inflicted a lot of damage,” Hajiyev said.
The Trump administration is negotiating the Armenia-United States Strategic Partnership Charter with Azerbaijan, which is expected to expand defense procurement and security cooperation. Full implementation may require permanently repealing Section 907.
Regional analysts note that Azerbaijan is viewed as a pressure point on Iran because of its ethnic composition and proximity. Instability inside Iran would have immediate spillover effects across the South Caucasus and Caspian region.
