Israeli think tank: Closer Israel–Azerbaijan cooperation could help offset the deficit of U.S. influence in Eurasia

Published: 2026-01-23 11:46

"How might the deepening of Israeli–Azerbaijani and Israeli–Kazakh cooperation be perceived by the principal actors in the region?" the Israeli think tank Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) poses the question.

"From Washington’s perspective (because of US-Israel strategic partnership), the emerging configuration could serve as one of the mechanisms for compensating the deficit of U.S. influence in Eurasia that resulted from the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Without such a compensatory strategy, it will be difficult for the United States to address a number of broader strategic challenges associated with its confrontation with China, Iran, and Russia simultaneously. For the United Kingdom and the European Union, the logic would be broadly similar, and in general they are likely to support any regional initiatives that reinforce Western diplomatic presence and connectivity in Central Asia, especially, in the forms of ‘soft power,’” BESA notes.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News