Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday met with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, thanking him for his country’s role in mediating relations between Israel and Turkey.
Turkish-Israel relations have hit a new low during the ongoing war, but since Jerusalem and Ankara both took over pieces of Syria in December 2024, both sides have also expressed an interest in deconfliction – a policy of avoiding any unnecessary military friction between each other’s forces while in Syria.
Katz’s meeting with Hasanov comes days after IDF Operations Command Chief Oded Basiuk met with Turkish officials in Azerbaijan to also facilitate potential relations with the new government of Syria run by Ahmad al-Sharaa, who deposed the Syrian Assad regime.
Although the IDF has denied that Israeli and Syrian officials have met directly, a variety of sources have told the Jerusalem Post, and a variety of reports have alluded to various kinds of contacts between Israelis and Syrians since December 2024.
There may also be greater pressure on both sides to cooperate following US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that he will lift sanctions on Syria.
Katz thanked Azerbaijan for its constant support since October 7
The defense minister also thanked Azerbaijan for its Eurovision votes, which awarded Israeli singer Yuval Raphael the maximum number of points, which contributed to her second-place finish in the international competition, and showed, he said, a deep connection between average people in both countries.
Further, Katz thanked Azerbaijan for its constant support since Hamas’s October 7 invasion of Israel, despite the fact that many countries globally have turned on Israel during the war due to its multiple counter-invasions of Gaza.
Jerusalem’s ties with Azerbaijan carry strategic value given the extensive border it shares with Iran, and numerous foreign reports have discussed how Israeli agents allegedly have used that porous border to penetrate the Islamic Republic.
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