Israel Makes Up For Turkey's Shortcomings With Azerbaijan
Written by Mahir ZEYNALOV Monday, 08 March 2010 11:13
Israeli President Shimon Peres’s visit to Azerbaijan last year and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s visit to the country in early February have carried fast-growing relations between Israel and Azerbaijan far beyond their original place of departure, perhaps leading to Israel taking over the role Turkey has traditionally played in Azerbaijan.
Over the past two years, Turkish-Israeli relations have deteriorated; even to the point of cutting off diplomatic relations. This was very visible following a recent crisis surrounding Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, in what came to be called the “armchair crisis.” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Davos showdown in January 2009, in protest of Israel’s Gaza offensive in the same month, the subsequent exclusion of Israel from an international military exercise in Turkey, the TV series “Ayrlk” (Separation) which is aired on Turkish state TV and depicts Israeli soldiers as engaging in violence against Palestinians were among the factors that slowly escalated already tense relations. Israel’s worsening relations with Turkey also followed a very steady pattern of improving relations with Azerbaijan in terms of entering into a strategic partnership and engaging in regional cooperation. Steering this process reasonably well, Israel’s attempt to find reliable partners in the region planned to undermine Turkey’s goal to be a regional leader or, in Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s terms, a “central state” in the region.
Azerbaijan has a substantial prosperous Jewish population, particularly in the northern city Quba, bordering Russia. Estimated to be around 12,000, Azeri Jews, who are also scattered throughout the capital Baku, have always felt the caring face of the central Azerbaijani authority, with special ties to President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan is one of only a few countries in the world that have banned Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf.” A single attempt a few years ago to publish the translation of the book resulted in the short detention of the translator and a ban on publishing it, with the reason being that it will incite ethnic and religious discrimination. An oil-rich, predominantly Muslim Shiite and ethnically Turkic country of 9 million people, Azerbaijan has always been under the constant attention of Israel since gaining its independence in 1991 following the chaotic collapse of the Soviet Union. Sandwiched between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan has an enduring conflict with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a dispute in which Israel has notably assisted Azerbaijan. Recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Israel has provided artillery and other type of weaponry to Azerbaijan for almost a decade.
The first phase of close relations between the two countries started with then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Azerbaijan in 1997. Azerbaijan is one of a few countries with a Muslim majority (along with Turkey, Jordan and Egypt) to develop diplomatic and strategic relations with Israel. Israel’s primary partnership with Azerbaijan covered technological assistance to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and Israeli investment in Azerbaijan’s key industries, including its mobile operator and textile sector. In June 2009, President Shimon Peres signed several agreements on military development assistance while visiting Azerbaijan en route to Kazakhstan. It was during that visit that Israel’s Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd. unveiled their plan to build a military factory in Baku. The last brick in the wall completing Azerbaijan’s close partnership with Israel was Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s visit last week. While harshly criticizing Turkey’s foreign policy and calling for amendments, Lieberman applauded Azerbaijan as a model of stability and tolerance for other Muslim states. “Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan are a great example of cooperation between a Muslim and a Jewish state,” Lieberman noted during his meeting with Azerbaijan’s Parliament Speaker Oqtay Asadov. The visits of several ministers from Azerbaijan to Israel in the near future have also been put on the agenda on the Azerbaijani side.
Israel long enjoyed being a traditional military ally of Turkey, at least until the recent quarrel between the two countries. Despite being a close ally of Turkey, ex-Soviet Azerbaijan showed no solidarity with Turkey in its “weekly condemnation” of Israel’s policies. Azerbaijan’s importance for Israel is central considering the large Azeri population in Iran who mostly oppose Iran’s current regime. Although silenced through constant intimidation, oppression and imprisonment, the Western world has seen the Azeri population in Iran as a key in the peaceful transformation of Iran’s bellicose regime into one which cooperates with its neighbors and recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
After all, Israel’s increasing relations with Azerbaijan appears to be a remarkable example of building an ever-lasting friendship for more cooperation in the region. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's scheduled visit to Azerbaijan last week is also a clear testimony of growing strategic cooperation between two countries.
* Mahir Zeynalov teaches Political Science at Qafqaz University, Baku, Azerbaijan. He also works for the daily, Today's Zaman.
Monday, 22 February 2010
http://www.turkishweekly.net/op-ed/2639/israel-makes-up-for-turkey-39-s-shortcomings-with-azerbaijan.html
Over the past two years, Turkish-Israeli relations have deteriorated; even to the point of cutting off diplomatic relations. This was very visible following a recent crisis surrounding Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, in what came to be called the “armchair crisis.” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Davos showdown in January 2009, in protest of Israel’s Gaza offensive in the same month, the subsequent exclusion of Israel from an international military exercise in Turkey, the TV series “Ayrlk” (Separation) which is aired on Turkish state TV and depicts Israeli soldiers as engaging in violence against Palestinians were among the factors that slowly escalated already tense relations. Israel’s worsening relations with Turkey also followed a very steady pattern of improving relations with Azerbaijan in terms of entering into a strategic partnership and engaging in regional cooperation. Steering this process reasonably well, Israel’s attempt to find reliable partners in the region planned to undermine Turkey’s goal to be a regional leader or, in Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s terms, a “central state” in the region.
Azerbaijan has a substantial prosperous Jewish population, particularly in the northern city Quba, bordering Russia. Estimated to be around 12,000, Azeri Jews, who are also scattered throughout the capital Baku, have always felt the caring face of the central Azerbaijani authority, with special ties to President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan is one of only a few countries in the world that have banned Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf.” A single attempt a few years ago to publish the translation of the book resulted in the short detention of the translator and a ban on publishing it, with the reason being that it will incite ethnic and religious discrimination. An oil-rich, predominantly Muslim Shiite and ethnically Turkic country of 9 million people, Azerbaijan has always been under the constant attention of Israel since gaining its independence in 1991 following the chaotic collapse of the Soviet Union. Sandwiched between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan has an enduring conflict with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a dispute in which Israel has notably assisted Azerbaijan. Recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Israel has provided artillery and other type of weaponry to Azerbaijan for almost a decade.
The first phase of close relations between the two countries started with then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Azerbaijan in 1997. Azerbaijan is one of a few countries with a Muslim majority (along with Turkey, Jordan and Egypt) to develop diplomatic and strategic relations with Israel. Israel’s primary partnership with Azerbaijan covered technological assistance to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and Israeli investment in Azerbaijan’s key industries, including its mobile operator and textile sector. In June 2009, President Shimon Peres signed several agreements on military development assistance while visiting Azerbaijan en route to Kazakhstan. It was during that visit that Israel’s Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd. unveiled their plan to build a military factory in Baku. The last brick in the wall completing Azerbaijan’s close partnership with Israel was Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s visit last week. While harshly criticizing Turkey’s foreign policy and calling for amendments, Lieberman applauded Azerbaijan as a model of stability and tolerance for other Muslim states. “Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan are a great example of cooperation between a Muslim and a Jewish state,” Lieberman noted during his meeting with Azerbaijan’s Parliament Speaker Oqtay Asadov. The visits of several ministers from Azerbaijan to Israel in the near future have also been put on the agenda on the Azerbaijani side.
Israel long enjoyed being a traditional military ally of Turkey, at least until the recent quarrel between the two countries. Despite being a close ally of Turkey, ex-Soviet Azerbaijan showed no solidarity with Turkey in its “weekly condemnation” of Israel’s policies. Azerbaijan’s importance for Israel is central considering the large Azeri population in Iran who mostly oppose Iran’s current regime. Although silenced through constant intimidation, oppression and imprisonment, the Western world has seen the Azeri population in Iran as a key in the peaceful transformation of Iran’s bellicose regime into one which cooperates with its neighbors and recognizes Israel’s right to exist.
After all, Israel’s increasing relations with Azerbaijan appears to be a remarkable example of building an ever-lasting friendship for more cooperation in the region. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's scheduled visit to Azerbaijan last week is also a clear testimony of growing strategic cooperation between two countries.
* Mahir Zeynalov teaches Political Science at Qafqaz University, Baku, Azerbaijan. He also works for the daily, Today's Zaman.
Monday, 22 February 2010
http://www.turkishweekly.net/op-ed/2639/israel-makes-up-for-turkey-39-s-shortcomings-with-azerbaijan.html
