The geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus has undergone a profound transformation following Azerbaijan’s restoration of control over its internationally recognized territories and the emergence of a new regional security architecture. Against this backdrop, Baku is redefining its foreign policy priorities and recalibrating relations with major international actors, particularly the United States and the European Union. Speaking at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, President Ilham Aliyev presented Azerbaijan’s perspective on the evolving dynamics with Washington and Brussels.
One of the central themes of President Aliyev’s speech was the evolution of Azerbaijan’s relationship with the United States, particularly the contrast between the Biden and Trump administrations.
President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sharpened the contrast between two distinct American approaches to the South Caucasus. President Ilham Aliyev said that earlier US administrations, together with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, had effectively sought to freeze the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rather than resolve it.
Adopted in 1992, Section 907 barred direct US government assistance to Azerbaijan. It has long occupied a central place in Azerbaijani official narratives as evidence of structural unfairness in Washington’s approach during the formative years of Azerbaijan’s independence.
“When the Freedom Support Act was adopted in the U.S. Congress to support the newly independent countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union with financial assistance, Amendment 907 was introduced by pro-Armenian senators. By the way, President Biden was one of them. He was a senator at that time, and this probably explains why we had so many difficulties with the Biden administration,” the head of state noted.
By contrast, President Aliyev described the current phase of Azerbaijan-US ties in emphatically positive terms.
“I would say relations between Trump’s administration and Azerbaijan are excellent, and we are very glad that these relations have elevated to the level of a strategic partnership,” Ilham Aliyev emphasized.
The president also stated that the Trump administration approached the South Caucasus differently from its predecessors. Rather than maintaining frozen conflicts as instruments of geopolitical influence, he said, Trump’s team viewed lasting peace as an opportunity for regional development and economic integration.
According to Aliyev, U.S. diplomatic engagement during the final stage of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia helped create favorable conditions for concluding a peace framework.
During President Aliyev’s visit in August of the previous year and his meeting with Donald Trump, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to establish a Strategic Working Group for preparing a Charter on Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and the U.S. Furthermore, President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, under the watch of President Trump, signed a Joint Declaration following the Washington summit.
“So, in our case, his role was very important when Azerbaijan and Armenia were in the final stage of negotiations on a peace agreement. President Trump and his team they stepped in, and they created such a framework that peace became possible,” the head of state stressed.
While Ilham Aliyev highlighted positive momentum in relations with Washington, his assessment of European institutions was considerably more critical.
“If Azerbaijan leaves the Council of Europe completely, no one in the country will even notice that. So being there or not being there doesn’t change a lot here,” he said.
Earlier Azerbaijani state discourse often balanced criticism of European double standards with continued emphasis on integration into European institutions. The current rhetoric is more openly dismissive.
At the same time, the relationship with the EU is unlikely to collapse into simple antagonism. Europe remains a major economic partner, energy market, and geopolitical actor in the wider neighborhood.
The message from Baku is increasingly explicit: Azerbaijan wants cooperation based on sovereignty, strategic utility, and mutual respect, not external political tutelage.
With the United States, this doctrine currently benefits Azerbaijan, as the Trump administration places strategic and geopolitical interests above ideological disagreements. By contrast, in relations with the European Union, the same doctrine has exacerbated tensions, as Brussels continues to approach the region from a normative standpoint.
“We are not looking for confrontation, especially when not only the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but also the European Parliament is attacking us regularly, again without any grounds. I think it’s kind of an obsession about Azerbaijan,” Ilham Aliyev stated.
He also highlighted the recent visits of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, portraying the current state of relations between Baku and Brussels as one of substantial engagement despite ongoing political disagreements.
The EU continues to be Azerbaijan’s largest trading partner and one of the principal destinations for Azerbaijani energy exports. Following the energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, Brussels has actively sought to diversify gas supplies, elevating Azerbaijan’s importance as a reliable supplier through the Southern Gas Corridor. It creates a degree of strategic pragmatism on both sides. Baku insists that future relations with the EU should be based on respect for sovereignty, equal partnership, and recognition of the new geopolitical realities.
Azerbaijan increasingly presents itself as a power pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy. The country seeks balanced relations with major global actors while emphasizing strategic autonomy and regional leadership.
President Ilham Aliyev’s statements at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum illustrate Azerbaijan’s confidence in its evolving international position and its determination to redefine relationships with both the United States and the European Union.