Azerbaijan's Diplomatic Landscape in 2025: Balance and Breakthrough in Geopolitical Games

At the crossroads of the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan, with its flexible and pragmatic diplomatic strategy, has carved out a unique path to development amidst great power rivalry.

"Relying on internal stability and sustainable development, Azerbaijan has successfully continued to pursue its independent and pragmatic foreign policy," said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhon Bayramov at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' annual press conference on December 26, 2025, summarizing the country's diplomatic work over the past year.

This press conference, which brought together representatives from local and international media as well as heads of various departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, comprehensively showcased Azerbaijan's diplomatic achievements against the backdrop of escalating global geopolitical tensions.

In 2025, Azerbaijan made significant progress in normalizing relations with Armenia, enhancing relations with major powers, and participating in multilateral mechanisms. Throughout the year, it signed 191 bilateral and multilateral documents with 41 countries, held political consultations with 52 countries, and successfully joined several important regional organizations.

01 Diplomatic Strategy Amidst Geopolitical Shifts

Located at the crossroads of Eurasia in the Caucasus region, Azerbaijan faces a complex geopolitical security environment and has historically been a battleground for great power competition. In 2025, against the backdrop of a changing and uncertain global security architecture, Azerbaijan, relying on internal stability and sustainable development, successfully continued its independent and pragmatic foreign policy.

President Aliyev skillfully navigated alliances and rivalries among major powers and maneuvered effectively amidst geopolitical crises, enabling Azerbaijan to not only diversify its energy exports but also significantly boost its national strength.

Amidst constant global geopolitical changes, Azerbaijan strengthened bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms through swift, responsible, and constructive diplomacy, significantly enhancing its international standing and influence.

Foreign Minister Ceyhon Bayramov emphasized that 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijan's glorious victory, and establishing sustainable and lasting peace in the region is one of the key priorities of Azerbaijani foreign policy.

02 A Key Breakthrough in the Normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia Relations

In 2025, substantial progress was made in the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The two sides signed a joint statement in the presence of the US President and drafted an agreement on establishing peace and interstate relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.

On August 8th of this year, several agreements were reached at the summit of leaders of Azerbaijan, the United States, and Armenia in Washington. This marked a crucial step forward for both countries after a long and painful conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The text of the agreement, released by the foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia on August 11th, clarified the obligations of both sides to respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of international borders, and pledged to renounce the use or threat of force.

For a long time, the OSCE Minsk Group, led by the United States, France, and Russia, has been the main mediator in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, but with limited success. The "Washington model" of mediation with US involvement this time signifies a significant shift in the balance of power in the South Caucasus region.

03. Deepening the Great Power Balancing Strategy

In April 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid a state visit to China, elevating bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. President Aliyev called China a "true strategic partner," and the two sides signed more than 20 cooperation documents covering multiple fields.

Regarding relations with the West, Azerbaijan actively develops strategic partnerships with the United States and Europe, joining NATO's Partnership for Peace and the European Union's Eastern Partnership. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan maintains a complex and delicate relationship with Russia.

After an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed in western Kazakhstan in December 2024, relations between Azerbaijan and Russia deteriorated. In July of this year, Aliyev even publicly advised Ukraine "never to make peace with the occupiers," which goes beyond the scope of general neutrality.

Azerbaijan's diversified and balanced diplomacy is built on its energy advantages. Azerbaijan possesses abundant oil and gas resources and is one of the world's major energy producers and exporters. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Europe was forced to decouple its economy from Russia, making Azerbaijan a new option for ensuring European energy security.

04 Multilateral Mechanisms and Regional Integration

In 2025, Azerbaijan also became active on the multilateral diplomatic stage. At the 7th Central Asian Heads of State Consultation Meeting held in Uzbekistan from November 15th to 16th, Azerbaijan officially became a full member of the Central Asian Heads of State Consultation Council.

Azerbaijan successfully maintained its chairmanship of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and its membership in the Non-Aligned Movement. Foreign Minister Bayramov pointed out that Azerbaijan achieved fruitful results within the framework of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), hosting OECD Week and establishing a clean energy center that is now operational.

Azerbaijan became a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2016 and is an important member of the "SCO family." During China's 2024-2025 chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Azerbaijan provided strong support for China's work as chair.

As one of the first countries to publicly support and participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, Azerbaijan is actively promoting its deep integration with its "Reviving the Silk Road" national development strategy.

During the D-8 Week for Developing Countries in Baku, various activities were held, including an informal meeting of commissioners and a ministerial dialogue on climate and urban planning.

05 Economic Diplomacy and Global Role

By 2025, Azerbaijan's economic diplomacy activities will yield significant results, helping to strengthen its position as an important transportation, energy, digital, and trade hub.

Azerbaijan is a key node in the "Middle Corridor" (Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor) and is China's largest trading partner in the South Caucasus region. In 2024, transit traffic between the two countries surged by 86%, becoming a new highlight of practical cooperation between China and Azerbaijan.

In the energy sector, Azerbaijan is committed to a green development transformation. Chinese companies and Azerbaijan are cooperating closely in the renewable energy sector, and these projects are expected to add 6,500 megawatts of renewable energy power generation capacity to Azerbaijan by 2030.

In comparison, Azerbaijan's current total installed power generation capacity is approximately 8,000 megawatts, meaning its power capacity could almost double in the next five years.

Azerbaijan has also expanded its diplomatic missions abroad. The Azerbaijani embassies in Thailand and Oman will officially open in 2025, while the Azerbaijani embassy in Syria resumed activities in February of this year after a 13-year hiatus.

In an era of globalization characterized by "great power competition," Azerbaijan, through precise strategic positioning and flexible diplomatic operations, has indeed leveraged influence far exceeding its own size in specific areas. Its next strategic choices will continue to influence the geopolitical landscape of the entire South Caucasus region.