While the joint summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League issued a condemnation resolution against Israel, it was noteworthy that Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev was not present in the group photo, which also included President Tayyip Erdogan.
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov attended the summit on behalf of Azerbaijan, which has close relations with Israel.
In his speech to the summit, while President Erdogan reiterated his harsh response to Israel at the rhetorical level, Bayramov preferred a neutral and soft approach and called for “reducing tension in Gaza and stopping hostilities.”
While the risk of the war in Gaza turning into a regional war is still being discussed internationally, Azerbaijan’s position is also coming to the fore.
He wonders what position Azerbaijan, which opened an embassy in Tel Aviv in January 2023 and is known to have played a role in the rapprochement of relations between Israel and Turkey before October 7, will take from now on.
“Azerbaijan is walking a fine line”
Baku’s position on the Gaza war was also mentioned in the analysis titled “As relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorate, Azerbaijan walks a fine line” which was published on the US-based news analysis website Eurasianet on November 9, 2023.
The article, signed by Azerbaijani analyst Rovshan Mammadli, stated that “the Gaza war led to the deterioration of relations between Baku’s “sister” state, Turkey, and another important strategic partner, which is Israel,” and pointed out that relations between Israel and Azerbaijan were bad. At its historical peak
The article stated, “Baku is walking a fine line on the international scene, as it tries to maintain its relations with Israel while avoiding alienating Turkey and harming its standing in the Islamic world, which has been filled with anti-Israel sentiment since the beginning of the year.” conflict.”
“Diplomatic dance”
It is mentioned in the article that after the first attack on October 7, Azerbaijan, like Turkey, condemned violence against all civilians by taking a position at equal distance from both sides, and that it voted in favor of a ceasefire, like Turkey, in a vote in the UN General Assembly on 27 October. It was noted that Turkey condemned Hamas through its embassy in Tel Aviv and the Azerbaijani-Israeli parliamentary working group.
Azerbaijan had voted against the Canadian proposal condemning the Hamas movement in the United Nations General Assembly.
Describing Baku’s stance towards Gaza as a “diplomatic dance,” the author reported that at the OTS summit held in Astana in early November and attended by Aliyev and Erdogan, Israeli aggression was not explicitly mentioned and only concerns about the ongoing conflict were mentioned. I expressed.
Oil and arms partnership against Iran
The writer states that it is no longer a secret that Baku has established complex strategic relations with Tel Aviv over the years, and that in 2009, Aliyev likened relations with Israel to “an iceberg nine-tenths of which is under water,” and that this partnership provides oil from Israel to Azerbaijan, and he stated that the country is supported With arms sales to Israel, and that Israel uses Azerbaijani lands for reconnaissance and intelligence activities against Iran.
According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 69% of Azerbaijan’s total arms imports in 2016-2020 were from Israel. In Israeli arms exports, Azerbaijan ranked second after India with a 17 percent share.
Azerbaijan ranks first in Israel’s oil imports, with a share of about 40 percent.
The article also stated that the Aliyev administration used the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to spy on dissidents and journalists, that Israel also supported Israel in the Karabakh War, that Azerbaijan refrained from condemning Israel and publicly calling for a ceasefire, and that anti-Israel protests were taking place in the country, as noted Protests were banned.
Gas license from Israel to SOCAR in the Mediterranean
In an indication that Baku is quietly working to improve its relations with Tel Aviv, the writer pointed out that the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR obtained a natural gas exploration license from Israel in the eastern Mediterranean at the end of October.
The article stated that Azerbaijan’s efforts to reconcile Turkey and Israel are also at risk, and harsh statements exchanged from both countries have increased, and if relations deteriorate further, Ankara may ask Baku for support against Israel.
The article also warned that “a potential difference of opinion with Turkey could harm the ‘two states, one nation’ rhetoric that has been used for so long.”
Ankara’s reaction was also at the rhetorical level
On the other hand, it is known that Ankara’s anti-Israel stance remains at the rhetorical level, and economic and military relations between Turkey and Israel continue.
Azerbaijani oil continues to flow to Israel via Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
At the expert meeting before the OIC leaders’ meeting, the press also reflected the information that Azerbaijani and Turkish officials rejected the Iranian economic blockade proposal against Israel.
release date: 13:44, 13 November 2023