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Former FM: Trump's letter shows US ready to develop relations with Azerbaijan

29 May 2025 14:58 (UTC +04:00)

The letter addressed by U.S. President Donald Trump to President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of May 28 – Independence Day – demonstrates the U.S.’s readiness to develop relations with Azerbaijan, Former Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Tofig Zulfugarov told APA.

A new stage in U.S.-Azerbaijan relations

Tofig Zulfugarov said that during the previous Biden administration, U.S.-Azerbaijan relations were very tense: “Now it turns out that Joe Biden himself was not dealing with these matters, but those around him, who held pro-Armenian positions, led U.S.-Azerbaijan relations to a crisis state. President Ilham Aliyev, assessing this, said that Azerbaijan-U.S. relations have never been at such a low level. After Donald Trump was elected president, especially in recent months, we see that despite the current U.S. administration being heavily involved in other issues, mutual positive messages are being observed in relations with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also wants the crisis period in relations to be completely left behind and the cooperation and partnership with a long history between the two countries to develop further.”

Areas of cooperation

Tofig Zulfugarov noted that in his letter, Donald Trump highly appreciated ties with Azerbaijan and the partnership with the U.S. in the fight against terrorism and energy security: “Azerbaijan is also ready to further develop cooperation in these areas, and we see that the U.S. is ready to expand and develop cooperation as well. Therefore, this letter should be highly appreciated.”

Peace process and the role of the U.S.

The former foreign minister also touched upon Donald Trump’s thoughts on peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia: “Azerbaijan is a supporter of peace with Armenia. Official Baku is the initiator of peace. It was Azerbaijan that presented the initial version of the peace agreement to Armenia, and this currently forms the foundation of the negotiations and the peace process. From Donald Trump’s letter, it is clear that the U.S. not only highly values this position but also expresses its support for the peace process.”