Israeli expert: France's anti-Azerbaijani activity - suicidal for EU
Caliber.Az interview with David Eidelman

INTERVIEWS  19 January 2023 - 16:31

The relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, secured by the long-awaited opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tel Aviv, are at a new qualitative stage, which has been applauded in both states. Even before this decisive diplomatic step, cooperation between the two countries was moving in a special strategic vector, and its fruitfulness has been repeatedly confirmed in practice. Azerbaijan will never forget what invaluable aid Israel provided to it before and during the 44-day war, and the Jewish State, in turn, appreciated our country's energy contribution to its economy and how a large Jewish community lives peacefully and happily on Azerbaijani soil.

In a conversation with Caliber.Az, Israeli political analyst, and historian David Eidelman has commented on the special relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel.

- How significant do you think the opening of Azerbaijan's embassy in Israel is, and what prospects does it open up for our countries?

- The opening of the embassy has, of course, been long overdue. I remember that twelve years ago when I was in Azerbaijan, I asked about it. They reasonably answered that if I did so, Azerbaijan would risk losing the support of those Muslim states that vote for the return of Karabakh at the UN. Many years have passed since then, and a number of qualitative changes have taken place: Azerbaijan has gained control over Karabakh not through UN resolutions, but on the battlefield. Second: those same Sunni Arab countries themselves established diplomatic relations with Israel at that time, as part of the so-called "Abrahamic Accords" negotiated with Donald Trump's help. And third: just twelve years ago, Israel's relations with Türkiye deteriorated, but thanks to Azerbaijan they have been restored. But until recently our relations did look a bit strange because there was an Armenian embassy in Israel, which is an ally of Iran, but there was no Azerbaijani embassy.

But finally, this long-awaited moment came, as some logical point in a chain of political-historical events.

- How do you assess the potential of an alliance between the three states of Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Israel, and could this affect the geopolitics of the Middle East?

- It is clear that any political alliances that do not involve a common enemy or adversary, as they used to say, are not worth the paper they are written on. But our partnership with Azerbaijan is not only written on paper, it is confirmed by time, mutual interests, and sympathies. After all, Israel was the second state after Türkiye to recognize Azerbaijan's independence, and only because we did not want to offend the Turks and gave them the primacy. The current alliance of Israel with Türkiye and Azerbaijan is largely aimed against Iran, there is nothing to hide. I should note that this alliance could in many ways be much larger than what we see today. The question here is how quickly Azerbaijan and Türkiye can implement the big geopolitical plans that Erdoğan and Aliyev hatch today. It is building a new configuration of the big Turkic world, the union of Turkic states. And if the plans succeed, perhaps the reality will be quite different not just in the Middle East but from Istanbul to the Chinese border. And understandably, Israel would very much like to be in this future alliance.

- What is meant by the formula "shoulder to shoulder with Azerbaijan", which Tel Aviv often voices, emphasising the special nature of relations with Baku?

- I am sure that even if Azerbaijan directly provides military assistance to Israel and Israel provides military assistance to Azerbaijan in case of some extraordinary events, the governments of our countries will hide and publicly deny the facts of such cooperation. Let me explain the point. For example, why can't Israel provide military assistance to Ukraine? The fact is that as soon as we do so - assist Ukraine, for example, in preventing Iranian drone attacks or something else, all Kyiv representatives, from the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel to the office of President Zelenskyy immediately rush to tell the media about it. Israel doesn't welcome such an approach. Also, as far as I know, Azerbaijan does not support this approach either. Mutual assistance and cooperation in the military sphere is a delicate matter. Who cares who sits behind computer monitors, where drones are sent, or where special forces of one country or another are trained?

- What are the prospects for cooperation between Baku, Tel-Aviv, and Ankara in the gas sphere, including ensuring energy security in Europe?

- Here is an interesting example: if you have seen the Knesset's recent address to their Azerbaijani counterparts, you may have noticed something unprecedented - the condemnation by Israeli parliamentarians of the French Senate resolution. This is indeed a unique political move by the Israeli parliament because it is probably the first time that the elected representatives of one country address the lawmakers of another country and condemn the lawmakers of a third country. And in their message, Israeli MPs openly rebuke the French parliamentarians.

I know for a fact that today Europe must first and foremost deal with energy security. And Israel has nothing to worry about in this matter, we have long-term agreements in this area with Azerbaijan and other countries, we have our own newly found gas. And regarding the sanctions against Azerbaijan, including Baku's energy activity, called for by the French Parliament, I want to note only one thing: they need to urgently get rid of such clinical idiocy. The actions demonstrated by the French Senate are completely unacceptable, playing into the hands of both Iran and Russia and, at the same time, suicidal for the European Union.

Caliber.Az