Azerbaijan, Israel discuss ‘Iranian threat’

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The two leaders also discussed Baku's strategic partnership with Ankara and its support for Ukraine

Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on 31 May that Tel Aviv has bolstered relations with Azerbaijan during his recent visit to Baku, at the invitation of the Azeri President, Ilham Aliyev.

The Israeli president disclosed that he discussed several regional developments with his Azeri counterpart, with emphasis on the ‘threat’ that Iran poses to regional security, given Azerbaijan’s shared border with the Islamic Republic.

Last year, Tehran launched drills and moved large amounts of military equipment to its shared border as a security precaution. 

The two leaders also discussed Baku’s strategic partnership with Ankara and its support for Ukraine.

Herzog remarked: “Visiting Azerbaijan is a dream come true for me and my nation,” adding that ever since Israel opened its Azeri embassy in Tel Aviv, it has created more opportunities to strengthen relations between the two regional states.

Despite the fact that Israel and Azerbaijan have maintained positive relations for 30 years, it was not until this year that Azerbaijan appointed an ambassador to Tel Aviv.

Aliyev praised the defense cooperation between Tel Aviv and Baku, accrediting Azerbaijan’s access to modern military equipment to its strong relations with Israel. He also stressed the importance of Israel’s role in helping Azerbaijan modernize its defense capabilities and allowing Baku to protect its “statehood, values, national interests, and territorial integrity.” 

Israel is one of Azerbaijan’s most prominent arms suppliers, as it has provided Baku with 69 percent of its arms imports between 2016 to 2020, accounting for 17 percent of Tel Aviv’s weapons exports during that period.

Israel increased its arms exports to Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Baku and Yerevan, which resulted in the deaths of over 6,000 soldiers and Azerbaijan claiming control over disputed territories in the Nagorno-Karabakh area.

On 22 May, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan is ready to recognize the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan if Azeri authorities can guarantee the security of the region’s predominantly ethnic Armenian population. Yerevan and Baku are currently engaging in peace talks to resolve issues in the disputed area and have reportedly made progress.

A week later, on 29 May, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of threatening to resort to force after Aliyev demanded the dissolution of Karabakh’s “separatist” local government.

Last month, Israel’s Foreign Minister met with his Israeli counterpart for talks on enhancing cooperation in the fields of economy, security, energy, and innovation, Israeli Channel 14 reported.

Despite these strong relations, on 10 March, the Azeri ambassador to Israel, Mukhtar Mammadov, told The Jerusalem Post that Baku would not allow the Israeli military to use Azerbaijan as a refueling base during a future attack against Iran.