The special envoy of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, arrived in the capital of Azerbaijan on Friday morning after an overnight visit to Moscow. According to analysts, this diplomatic move is part of a coordinated strategy between Israel, the US, and Azerbaijan, The Jerusalem Post reports.
According to the Russian news agency RIA, Witkoff’s plane departed from Vnukovo Airport in Moscow at around 2:00 a.m. and landed in Baku a few hours later. While the Kremlin has not officially confirmed the meeting, sources claim that closed-door talks took place between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sources familiar with Israeli-Azerbaijani relations indicate that preparations for the visit intensified significantly after March 5, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to the trilateral partnership in the Knesset.
Another key factor influencing the visit’s planning was a letter from a group of senior rabbis to President Trump, calling for the expansion of the Abraham Accords and the strengthening of the strategic alliance between Israel, the US, and Azerbaijan. This move has generated significant resonance in political and diplomatic circles.
About two months ago, the Begin-Sadat Center published a report exploring the possibility of Baku serving as a mediator between Washington and Moscow. The study garnered considerable attention in American and Israeli media, making Witkoff’s visit particularly significant.
The fact that the US envoy arrived in Baku directly from Moscow reinforces experts’ assessments of Azerbaijan’s growing role in global diplomacy. The international community is closely watching the developments and the strengthening of trilateral relations. Whether Baku will become a key mediator in global politics remains an open question.