India and Azerbaijan are attempting a diplomatic reset after ties nosedived during Operation Sindoor. Azerbaijan had openly backed Pakistan and Türkiye when India struck terror targets across the border. Now, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has met President Ilham Aliyev in Baku—the first standalone visit by an Indian foreign minister to Azerbaijan in eight years. But this is not a friendship revival. It is strategic balancing. Azerbaijan sits at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Caspian region. It also matters for the International North-South Transport Corridor, energy supplies and India’s wider Eurasian outreach. Delhi cannot ignore Baku’s Pakistan alignment, but it also cannot leave an important regional gateway entirely to Islamabad. The message is clear: India is willing to reset ties, but trust must be rebuilt through actions.