Azerbaijan and Syria's leaders have pledged to strengthen ties, focusing on energy cooperation. On Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev welcomed Syria's interim leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Baku. Al-Sharaa, whose forces ousted former President Bashar Assad in December, thanked Azerbaijan for its support. Both leaders criticized Assad's government for damaging international relations. They discussed plans to export Azerbaijani gas to Syria via Turkey and rebuilding Syria’s energy infrastructure. Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey and Israel, has recently mediated tensions between the two nations over Syria. In April, Turkey and Israel held talks in Azerbaijan to establish a de-escalation mechanism for Syria.
