The National Interest: Azerbaijan offers the US a rare strategic opening in the region

Published: 2025-12-20 08:37

"Yet Azerbaijan is more than a country at the mercy of large neighbors. It also offers a rare strategic opening for Washington with immediate payoffs in trade, energy security, and regional deterrence. Baku controls a key stretch of the Middle Corridor—the only land route from Europe to Asia that bypasses both Russia and Iran. It already supplies natural gas to Europe and has helped ease tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara. It has become a bridge to Central Asia, a region the United States has recently prioritized as it seeks alternatives to Chinese rare earths," writes The National Interest, a mouthpiece of moderate Republicans.

"Washington could explore a C6+2 concept that formally includes Israel alongside Azerbaijan and the Central Asian states. This would create a practical platform for coordination on infrastructure, cybersecurity, water management, and corridor security. It could also amplify US influence in a region long dominated by Russia and China," the magazine notes.

"Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine and Iran’s mounting internal crises have created a narrow window. A secure east-west corridor, a sustainable Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement, and credible deterrence against Tehran are all within reach—but only if Washington treats Azerbaijan as the pivotal state it has become rather than another peripheral partner. Windows of this kind rarely stay open long," The National Interest adds.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News