Armenian political analyst: Key issue of Netanyahu’s Baku visit is Azerbaijan’s stance in case of Iran-Israel conflict

Published: 2025-05-02 12:48

Armenian political analyst Artem Yerkanyan commented on the geopolitical implications of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Baku during an interview with the Armenian news program Shant News. According to him, the visit is not merely symbolic — it could test Baku’s neutrality in the event of an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.

“The central question of Netanyahu’s visit to Azerbaijan is how Baku will position itself if the Iran-Israel confrontation escalates into open conflict," said Yerkanyan. "Just a few days ago, Iranian President Pezeshkian visited Azerbaijan — likely in an attempt to secure guarantees of Azerbaijani neutrality in the event of war with Israel. Netanyahu’s objective now is quite the opposite: to ensure that Azerbaijan would not remain neutral, but would instead allow Israel to use its territory as a staging ground for military action against Iran.”

Yerkanyan also addressed Azerbaijan’s mediating role between Turkey and Israel.

“Azerbaijan is the main beneficiary of improved Turkish-Israeli relations, as both Turkey and Israel are its closest allies. Yet Azerbaijan is suffering from the failure to form a trilateral alliance — one that Aliyev had pinned great hopes on. The absence of such an alliance has created difficulties for Azerbaijan in its relations with Turkey," the political analyst noted.

He further added that the timing of Netanyahu’s visit, which coincides with U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, is likely not accidental.

“This overlap provides President Aliyev with an opportunity to strengthen his geopolitical leverage. The series of recent high-level visits suggests that Baku’s role in regional and geopolitical processes continues to expand,” Yerkanyan said.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News