There has been much speculation surrounding Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel, including reports that Israeli warplanes might use Azerbaijani airfields as support bases during a potential attack against Iran. The reality of the bilateral relationship is not so dramatic, as it is pragmatic.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan is looking to become an international energy producer. And in its first move beyond the Caspian Basin, SOCAR is turning to Israel.
Azerbaijani military and political analysts are disputing a March 28 report on an American website that alleges Israel has gained access to airbases in Azerbaijan for possible use in an attack against Iran.
As the showdown over Iranian nuclear ambitions intensifies, political analysts in Azerbaijan are urging the government to deepen the country’s ties with Israeli and Western security structures.
Policymakers in Azerbaijan are facing a dilemma: can an enemy of a friend be a friend? Specifically, can Baku maintain cordial relations with both Turkey and Israel at the same time?
Standing on the deck of the Mavi Marmara recently, a Greek activist presented the head of Turkey’s Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation, sponsor of the Gaza-Strip-bound aid ship, with a model of an ancient Cretan vessel.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Dec. 3 that Turkey has sent two firefighting aircraft to Israel at the behest of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The aircraft will assist Israeli efforts to extinguish huge fires in the Carmel Mountains, outside the northern city of Haifa, that have claimed 41 lives so far.
Amid a downturn in Turkish-Israeli relations, political support in Israel for a parliamentary vote on the recognition of Ottoman Turkey’s 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide appears to be growing.
Domestic political factors in Turkey may exert considerable influence in the coming weeks over Ankara’s response to the tragically botched Israeli commando raid on the Gaza aid flotilla, analysts say.
