Azerbaijan
Netanyahu set to visit Azerbaijan
The announcement comes amidst growing reports of a trilateral alliance between the US, Israel, and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan–Israel Relations
Netanyahu ‘postpones’ Baku trip amidst reports of Turkey blocking airspace
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Become a memberIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled an upcoming visit to Baku, with his office citing ‘developments’ on Israel’s border and other reports suggesting that Turkey refused to allow him through its airspace.
The Israeli prime minister was scheduled to go on an official visit to Baku between 7–11 May.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s office cited ‘developments in the Gaza Strip and Syria’ and a ‘tight political and security schedule’ as reasons behind the delay, adding that the visit would be rescheduled at a ‘later date’.
However, The Times of Israel has also cited Israeli news outlet Walla as saying that the Israeli prime minister had postponed his trip because Turkey ‘would not allow Netanyahu’s plane to fly through its airspace’ and that ‘alternative routes’ through Greece and Bulgaria would have ‘doubled the length of the trip’.
Turkish daily Milliyet cited the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli as saying on Sunday that reports of Turkey barring Netanyahu’s plane from flying over its airspace were not true.
‘The allegations that the Israeli Prime Minister’s plane was not given permission to overfly are absolutely untrue. There has been no request conveyed to us in this regard’, Keçeli reportedly said.
Reports of Turkey barring Netanyahu’s plane from entering its airspace come off the heels of several similar reports; Al Jazeera has cited Israeli media as reporting that Turkey barred an Israeli military aircraft from crossing its airspace into Azerbaijan in April.
In November, Israeli news site Ynet wrote that Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s trip to Azerbaijan to take part in November’s COP29 climate summit was also cancelled because Turkey refused to allow his plane into its airspace. Herzog’s office had officially said that the trip was cancelled due to ‘security concerns’.
After news surfaced of Netanyahu shelving his trip, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a plan for ‘conquering Gaza’ and tasking private security contractors protected by the Israeli army with delivering aid to the strip. Al Jazeera has cited AFP as reporting that the plan would involve ‘moving the Gaza population south for their protection’.
While Turkish–Israeli relations have often been strained, tensions between the two have peaked several times over the past few years, as Ankara remains critical of Israel’s war on Gaza and its targeting of sites in Syria.
On Sunday evening, i24NEWS reported that Turkish and Israeli fighter jets ‘faced off’ in Syria’s airspace, with Turkish fighters sending ‘warning messages’ to Israeli planes involved in waves of strikes against pro-Turkish militias in northern Syria.
Azerbaijan and Israel enjoy friendly relations, with Israel supplying Azerbaijan with arms, while Azerbaijan supplies Israel with oil.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a US-based data visualisation platform, Israel imported around 43% of its crude petroleum from Azerbaijan, valued at $1.39 billion in 2023.
Netanyahu set to visit Azerbaijan
The announcement comes amidst growing reports of a trilateral alliance between the US, Israel, and Azerbaijan.
Nate Ostiller
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