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Home Posts Coming to Light: The Warming of Israel-Azerbaijan Relations

Coming to Light: The Warming of Israel-Azerbaijan Relations
Gallia Lindenstrauss, Aviya Yoeli 30 April, 2023
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Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen paid a reciprocal visit to Baku after his counterpart visited Jerusalem (and Ramallah) in March and inaugurated the opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is expected to visit Azerbaijan during the month of May.

Relations between Israel and Azerbaijan have tightened and in recent years have received more publicity than before. Catalysts include Azerbaijan's success in the second Nagorno-Karabakh War, the growing openness toward Israel in the Muslim world following the Abraham Accords, and the growing tensions of the two countries vis-à-vis Iran. Thus what was downplayed – an alliance of interests, inter alia in the wake of the geographical proximity of Azerbaijan to Iran, the significant arming of the Azerbaijani army, which yields profit for the Israeli defense industries, and the export of energy from Azerbaijan to Israel (close to 30 percent of Israel's oil consumption comes from the wells in Azerbaijan) – is now more prominent.

In the Caucasus region (which includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia), three dominant neighbors are involved in developments on the ground. The first is Russia, which used to dominate the region, although in light of the war in Ukraine, its attention to the region has slightly decreased. This has helped Turkey, Azerbaijan's traditional ally against Armenia, renew its vision among the Turkic peoples, with a more prominent presence in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Meantime, the southern neighbor, Iran, which has a common border with Azerbaijan (lengthened following the results of the second Nagorno-Karabakh War), warms its ties with Russia, while at the same time helping to arm Armenia.

Immediately after Cohen's statement at the joint press conference with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister in Jerusalem regarding a "united front against Iran," there was sharp Iranian criticism of Baku – even though only Cohen expressed himself in this vein. The question arises, will Baku's relations with Israel develop further in the context of the interests and influence of various parties, or will the neighbors, and in particular Iran, pressure Baku to cool its relations with Jerusalem.

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  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Cognitive Warfare
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      • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
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