Israel's new embassy in Turkmenistan sends message to Iran

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Turkmenistan on April 20 to inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Ashgabat, as the country considers opening an embassy in Israel.

Cohen arrived to Turkmenistan on April 19 evening after a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, and was received at the Ashgabat airport by Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Berdyniyaz Myatiev. It was the first visit in 29 years by an Israeli minister, Al-Monitor reports.

The first and last such visit took place in 1994, a year after the two countries established diplomatic ties, when then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres traveled to the country. 

Pressured by Iran, Turkmenistan had refused to approve the nomination of an Israeli ambassador for several years until 2013. Since then, the Israeli ambassadors have been stationed in the Turkmen capital, but operated from hotel rooms, awaiting the construction of a permanent embassy. Cohen inaugurated the building on April 20. In the region, Israel has two other permanent embassies: in Kazakhstan and in Uzbekistan.

Israel considers Cohen's visit in Turkmenistan of the utmost strategic importance, as Ashgabat is situated very close to the country’s border with Iran. The same is true for Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan, which also neighbors Iran. 

Prior to the inauguration Cohen met with Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow and discussed strengthening bilateral ties in several fields including border protection, water management and smart agriculture. After the meeting, Cohen said, "The president told me he was considering opening an embassy in Israel. The opening of a Turkmen embassy will surely strengthen the relations between the two countries and will encourage cooperation between the governments and between the economies in fields of technology, agriculture and regional security.”

Cohen's trip comes on the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel is concerned by the recent rehabilitation of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as Iranian efforts at rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates. While normalization with Saudi Arabia seems to be drifting further off, the Israeli leadership keeps saying it will continue efforts in that direction.

Interviewed by the Israeli Army Radio on Wednesday while visiting Baku, Cohen said that a visit to Saudi Arabia was on the table. “We are working on a visit to Saudi Arabia. There is still no date, but I do believe this will happen,” he noted.