Baku: A rising middle power and a diplomatic meeting place for Israel and its neighbors

President Herzog's meeting with Bahrain's Foreign Minister in Baku highlighted Azerbaijan's growing role in regional diplomacy. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the CICA summit, and the two discussed strengthening the Abraham Accords. Herzog also met with the President of Azerbaijan. The article presents Baku as a middle power enabling diplomatic meetings between Israel, Turkey, and Arab countries.

President Isaac Herzog's meeting with Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, on Wednesday in Baku underscored Azerbaijan's growing importance on the diplomatic stage. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit hosted by Azerbaijan. According to a statement from the President's Office, the two discussed strengthening the Abraham Accords and expanding regional cooperation. Herzog also met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, discussing bilateral relations and regional security. The article quotes Joseph Epstein, director of the Turan Research Center, who describes Azerbaijan's approach as "reconciliation without a public platform," and Professor Zeev Hanin, who views Azerbaijan's development into a middle power as a different model from the formal framework of the Abraham Accords. The article notes that in April 2025, security delegations from Israel and Turkey met in Azerbaijan for talks aimed at formulating a mechanism to prevent military incidents in Syria.