Azerbaijan appoints 1st ambassador to "Israel"

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Jan 2023 22:34

Diplomatic relations between Baku and Tel Aviv stretch back 30 years ago and both Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have praised their diplomatic ties several times.

Azeri ambassador to "Israel" Mukhtar Mammadov (Photo: AZA.AZ)

Azeri and Israeli sources reported on Wednesday that Baku appointed its first-ever ambassador to "Israel".

The embassy will be opened in "Tel Aviv", where most other embassies are located.

Mukhtar Mammadov, who served as deputy minister of education and held other foreign positions, was appointed by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev via presidential decree on Wednesday.

Diplomatic relations between Baku and "Tel Aviv" stretch back 30 years ago and both Aliyev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have praised their diplomatic ties several times.

This is the first time that Azerbaijan ever appoints an envoy to "Israel".

"Israel" has already had an envoy in Baku since the 1990s and the zionist entity provided Azerbaijan with substantial military support to back Baku's invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh and its war against Armenia.

Meet H.E. Mukhtar Mammadov, the 1st Ambassador of #Azerbaijan🇦🇿 to #Israel🇮🇱. With the opening of 🇦🇿 Emb. in 🇮🇱, a new era begins for strategic partnership & unique friendship existing betw. our 2 nations & people. I wish the new Amb. every success in his historic mission 🇦🇿🤝🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/6qMI8z5Dji
— Nasimi Aghayev (@NasimiAghayev) January 11, 2023

While the Caucasian country supplies around 40% of "Israel's" oil imports, Baku also happens to have strained relations with Iran.

The announcement of the opening of an embassy in "Tel Aviv" was announced in November of last year.

In response to this, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian accused "Israel" of planning to expand its military presence all the way to Azerbaijan.

Although Azerbaijan denied the accusations, Iran launched large-scale military drills along its borders.

Shortly after, Aliyev was reported taking photographs with Israeli kamikaze drones, which happen to be produced in Azerbaijan.

This marks a clear downgrade compared to what was reported yesterday.

Yesterday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Ghalibaf on Monday that the existing misunderstanding between Tehran and Baku have been solved.

Ghalibaf's words came during a press briefing after he made a visit to Turkey to attend the 13th session of the Assembly of Asian Parliaments (APA).

The speaker, touching on a tripartite meeting with his counterparts from Ankara and Baku, stressed that issues related to the transportation and transit of goods and energy were being discussed between the three countries.

Furthermore, the parties also discussed the prospect of holding tripartite meetings at the level of the foreign ministers, defense ministers, and heads of state.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Azeri ambassador to Tehran in early November to protest the ongoing propaganda campaign by the country’s officials and media against the Islamic Republic.

The ministry expressed its strong protest over top Azeri officials' "unfriendly remarks" and the country’s media campaign against Iran, calling for an immediate end to such actions and for acting toward the prevention of their repetition.