Politics is an arena of constantly shifting interests, where yesterday’s ally can become today’s opponent, and vice versa. In the aftermath of the 2020 war, the growing inconsistency in US-Azerbaijan relations made it increasingly clear that finding common ground between the Biden administration and Baku would be extremely difficult.

The situation was further complicated by the strength of Armenian-leaning political groups in the US Congress. Their influence created a formidable barrier to a peace process that, while increasingly unavoidable, continued to face obstacles to its realisation. However, despite these tensions, diplomacy did not stop. The channels between Washington and Baku remained open, as they had throughout the period.

In fact, during the post-conflict period, Washington arguably carried much of the responsibility for helping advance the peace agenda between Baku and Yerevan. At a time when the Armenian lobby and its political allies were seeking to slow the process, they had considerable influence in both Congress and the White House. That made the United States not just an outside observer of the peace process, but a key actor whose policy choices could either accelerate reconciliation or contribute to further delay.

Therefore, transformation in US-Azerbaijan relations and the emergence of a new peace framework between Azerbaijan and Armenia are best understood not only as separate diplomatic developments, but as parts of the same geopolitical process.

However, the turning point came with President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the United States on 8-9 August 2025. The visit marked a significant change in the relationship between Baku and Washington while also providing the political setting for the initialling of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

For Azerbaijan, the moment was the culmination of a long and difficult process, because the country entered the post-2020 period determined to translate its new position into a wider regional settlement. That required military strength, diplomatic persistence and, ultimately, a reassessment of relations with major powers.

As mentioned earlier, during the Biden administration, relations between the US and Azerbaijan deteriorated significantly. Baku viewed Washington’s approach to the South Caucasus as........

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