Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, landed on Friday morning in the capital of Azerbaijan after an overnight visit to Moscow, in what appears to be a well-coordinated diplomatic move between Israel, the US, and Azerbaijan.
According to a report by the official Russian news agency RIA, Witkoff’s plane departed from Vnukovo Airport in Moscow around 2:00 a.m. and arrived in Baku within a few hours. Although the Kremlin has not officially confirmed it, various sources claim that a closed meeting took place between Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sources involved in Israeli-Azeri relations reveal that coordination for the visit became particularly intensive after March 5, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized his commitment to the trilateral partnership between the countries in the Knesset.
Meanwhile, a significant letter from senior rabbis to President Trump, calling for the expansion of the Abraham Accords and strengthening the strategic alliance between Israel, the US, and Azerbaijan, led to considerable resonance in political and diplomatic corridors. The letter directly influenced the preparations for the visit to Baku.
Baku could serve as a mediator between US, Russia
About two months ago, the Begin-Sadat Center published an important position paper presenting the possibility that Baku could serve as a mediator between Washington and Moscow. The publication received significant attention in American and Israeli media, making the current visit particularly meaningful.
Witkoff’s visit, arriving directly from Moscow to Baku, reinforces experts’ assessment that Azerbaijan may play a key role in global diplomacy in the coming period.
The diplomatic community is closely monitoring developments in Baku, waiting to see how the trilateral relations between the countries will evolve and whether Azerbaijan will indeed fulfill the central mediating role expected of it.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
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