By Nate Ostiller
In the past few days, top officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration have made direct diplomatic overtures to Azerbaijan, including a visit over the weekend from special envoy Steve Witkoff to Baku and a phone call between US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his Azerbaijani counterpart Hikmat Hajiyev.
The moves come in the aftermath of an announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to sign a historic peace treaty.
Details about Witkoff’s visit were scant, with the bulk of news regarding his trip stemming from the Russian state-run media outlet RIA Novosti, which only reported that Witkoff had flown from Moscow, where he reportedly met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to Baku.
It is unclear whether Witkoff met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev or other top officials, and it is unknown what issues, if any, were discussed. Nonetheless, there was speculation that the visit could have been related to a growing “strategic alliance” between the US, Azerbaijan, and Israel.
Waltz was more detailed in his comments about the call with Hajiyev.
