AZERBAIJAN, ISRAEL HAVE BECOME ‘STRATEGIC ALLIES’
news.az
June 28, 2011
Azerbaijan
Political analyst Arye Gut comments for News.Az on Azerbaijani-Israeli
relations on the eve of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ visit
to Baku.
As a professional specialist in the field of international relations,
this is not the first time I have analysed the various aspects
of Azerbaijani-Israeli cooperation and their media coverage. But I
don’t remember such a spate of publications that we’ve seen in recent
weeks in the Israeli, Russian and Armenian media, which, frankly,
are designed to undermine Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. I hope they
do not work, although there can be no doubt about the partisanship
of these gentlemen.
As part of my public work, I often meet representatives of the
Israeli elite. And, typically, political, military and public
figures in Israel, as a rule, speak positively about our country
and the prospects for bilateral cooperation. And it isn’t just a
gesture towards political correctness. Despite the ongoing global
economic crisis, last year was very successful for Azerbaijani-Israeli
relations. A number of large-scale transactions of an economic and
military-technical nature were concluded and a major contract signed
with Israeli construction company Shikun & Binui.
Total trade between our countries has reached four billion dollars
– a figure that makes our countries strategic allies. On the other
hand, these figures do not please everyone: secret and open enemies
to strengthen the Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation, alas, is missing.
As a representative of the Israel-Azerbaijan International Association
(AZIZ), representing the Israeli community of descendants from
Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani diaspora of Israel, I have repeatedly
answered questions about the lack of an Azerbaijani embassy in Israel.
And every time I repeat that Baku’s foreign policy is built on the
basis of specific objectives and challenges to meet, in the first
place, the national interests of Azerbaijan itself. It’s easiest
to accuse Baku of indecision and a lack of goodwill and much more
difficult, without resorting to street populism, to analyse the
situation and argue pragmatically.
In fact, the Republic of Azerbaijan, which signed an agreement with
Israel on establishing full diplomatic relations almost 20 years
ago, has not opened an embassy here, despite numerous requests from
Jerusalem and calls from Washington following the lobbying of American
Jewish organizations.
First and foremost, because of a reluctance to exacerbate the rather
complex and contradictory relationship with Iran – well, if they open
an embassy in Israel, these relations may be completely stopped. In
addition, by making such a move, Azerbaijan would risk losing
the support of some Muslim countries on life-changing issues. In
particular, we are talking about the decades of armed confrontation
with Armenia caused by the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani
territory.
On the other hand, the lack of an Azerbaijani embassy in Israel
has almost no effect on economic cooperation and trade between
our countries, nor on constructive political dialogue between our
countries. That’s why I think that statements by some Russian-speaking
“experts” who talk about ‘the collapse of Azerbaijani-Israeli
cooperation” are highly irresponsible.
I can give the assessments of a number of Israeli political analysts
and experts on Central Asia, who believe that the current leadership of
Azerbaijan conducts foreign policy independently of Ankara and Tehran,
and has earned a reputation as a strong and independent player in the
international arena. The clear position of Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev on relations with Israel, in particular his refusal to submit
to the demands of Iran and to cancel the visit of Israeli President
Shimon Peres to Baku and his refusal to join any anti-Israel campaigns
cause sincere respect in Israel.
On the other hand, the Israeli political establishment and, in many
ways thanks to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, today does not see
the Republic of Azerbaijan is the same way that it did a few years
ago. It was Lieberman who managed to convince the public that Israel
needed not only support from the US and EU, but also the support of
moderate Muslim countries formed after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. In 2008, as minister for strategic planning, he did much to
develop relations with the countries of the former Soviet Union,
including Georgia and Azerbaijan. And today, just three years later,
Lieberman’s multi-vector policy, as it is called, is the main thrust
of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and became possible thanks to the
historic visits of Shimon Peres to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and the
regular exchange of delegations of Israeli ministers and their Central
Asian counterparts. The multi-vector policy is already yielding real
dividends to Israel – in terms of economic relations, votes at the UN
and advancing the interests of Jewish communities in Muslim countries.
And yet, knowing the importance of Israeli-Azerbaijani relations, some
politicians and journalists do their best to reduce them to nothing.
First and foremost, we are talking about lobbyists who have been
pushing the idea of the State of Israel recognizing the so-called
Armenian “genocide”. Let me remind you, we are talking about the events
of 1915 which took place on the territory of the then Ottoman Empire.
For many years the Knesset observed a silent consensus on the subject.
To put it simply, an issue fundamentally contrary to the interests
of the State of Israel was not considered at all. But in the last few
years, several Knesset members felt that any discussion of this topic
made good media headlines, as it has wide public and international
attention and suddenly became consistent supporters of Israel’s
recognition of the Armenian genocide.
Of course, these are just a few people, while the vast majority of
Israeli members of parliament support the view expressed a few weeks
ago by the first deputy foreign minister of Israel, Knesset member
Danny Ayalon. “There is no chance of the Knesset recognizing the
Armenian genocide,” Ayalon said. “It is impossible. We cannot afford
to spoil relations with a major strategic partner in the Muslim world
– Azerbaijan because of controversial historical issues relating to
events a century ago.”
And yet, proponents of the recognition of the Armenian genocide in the
Knesset, who are hardly more than five percent of the total number of
deputies, and those in search of cheap sensationalism in the media,
continue to force an error on the Israeli public, claiming, inter
alia, recognition of the Armenian genocide does not impact (?) on
Israeli-Azerbaijani relations.
Last but not least this an outright lie or downright ignorance.
However, I would like to clarify this delicate subject. I am convinced
that people who are comparing the nightmare of the Holocaust with the
massacre of Armenians during the events of 1915 are not just ignorant.
They cynically betrayed the memory of six million European Jews who
were killed in Nazi death camps, just because they were Jews.
Armenians had for many years been in conflict with the Ottoman Empire
and were involved in separatism, treachery and cooperation with the
Russian army, which was at war with the Ottoman Empire, hoping to
establish a new “Great Armenia” in Turkey.
We as Israelis shamefully compare the Holocaust of European Jewry with
the tragedy of 1915, which was mainly caused by Armenian separatism
and irredentism.
But to set aside the misty past, let’s talk about this – does the
Israeli policy of lobbying the recognition of genocide in modern
Armenia almost every year in the Knesset desecrate the memory of
the Holocaust? That anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Armenia are
not a myth, but sad reality is the same as the ideas of the racial
superiority of the Armenian “Aryans” over the Turkic, Semitic and
other peoples, which are popular among the masses. Modern Armenia is
a mono-ethnic state with a population of 500 (five hundred!) Jews,
the vast majority of whom, including the head of the Jewish community,
have Armenian surnames.
At the same time, in neighbouring Azerbaijan there are 30,000 Jewish
religious and secular communities. Our compatriots hold prominent
positions in virtually all areas of economic, political and cultural
life of the country. The chairman of the interparliamentary group
Azerbaijan-Israel in at the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic is
Yevda Abramov, an ethnic Jew, born in the Jewish village of Krasnaya
Sloboda. In the last 18 months alone, two large synagogues have opened
in the capital of Azerbaijan, while the largest Jewish campus in the
South Caucasus has started operating for 400 children, and its opening
was attended by President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva,
president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
An integral part of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan is the
Israel-Azerbaijan International Association (AZIZ), which unites
about 60,000 Israeli citizens who came from Azerbaijan and do a lot
to open the eyes of Israeli society to modern Azerbaijan.
As real Azerbaijani diaspora in Israel, AZIZ has played an important
and constructive role in maintaining dialogue between our countries.
The III Congress of Azerbaijanis Worldwide, which will be held at
the beginning of July this year in Baku and will discuss a strategic
vision of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the 21st century, has invited
an AZIZ delegation to take part.
There is another important aspect in the light of which the very idea
of Israel’s recognition of the notorious Armenian “genocide” prompts
real bewilderment. With the establishment of diplomatic relations in
1992 Armenia is the only strategic ally in the South Caucasus region
of the State of Israel’s most implacable enemy, the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
In fact, it is to Iran that Armenia owes its existence after the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
The signing of diplomatic relations with Tehran enabled Armaenia in
the early 1990s to break the transport blockade imposed by Turkey
and Azerbaijan. Without this “balanced” policy of Tehran, which is
in fact, treacherous towards Azerbaijan, Armenia would control today
more than twenty percent of the territory of Azerbaijan.
A 42-mile section of the Armenian-Iranian border is now the only way
out of Armenia, which has borders with Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia,
to the outside world. It is through Iran that all transport routes
now link Armenia with the outside world;
A bridge across the Aras River, completed in 1996, was the first
major joint Armenian-Iranian project. But Tehran had a solution in
1994 during the occupation of Azerbaijani territory. Unbelievable
but true: Iranian generals and builders remain indifferent as to the
other side of the Aras while Armenian armed forces destroyed Azeri
towns and villages and killed their Shia Muslim brothers.
Put into operation in 1995, the first power line Iran – Armenia brought
the Armenian energy system out of a state of paralysis, and isolation
and, more importantly, allowed Yerevan in part to get rid of Russian
energy coming through Georgia.
At first glance, the pro-Armenian position in Tehran looks strange.
Indeed, Iran has approximately 35 million ethnic Shia Azerbaijanis.
However, to understand the logic of Armenian-Iranian relations,
it should be understood that for a number of reasons Iran may not
be objectively interested in strengthening Azerbaijan. Tehran has
specific objectives related to its national security and territorial
integrity and, therefore, will never allow the strengthening of
independent Azerbaijan.
It is worth noting that, in contrast to Azerbaijan, with which
Iran has serious differences on a number of fundamental problems,
including a section of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan’s relations with
the “Zionist entity”, etc., contacts between Tehran and Yerevan are
warm and trusting. In this context we should mention the visit of
the late president, Heydar Aliyev, to Iran in May 2002. During the
summit, the national leader of the Azerbaijan people called on Iran
to oppose the occupation of Azerbaijani land by Armenia. The then
Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, said no, arguing: “Armenia is
not Israel, and the Azerbaijanis are not the Palestinians.” This is
the Real Politik of the regime of the Iranian ayatollahs.
One last caveat, which characterizes the true attitude of Azerbaijanis
to their southern neighbour. As you know, in their statements for
foreign consumption Iranian leaders position Iran as a consistent
“defender of the oppressed and dispossessed Muslims”. But at the same
time, it has a 600-kilometre border with Shia Azerbaijan, which have
has a million Muslim refugees and lost 20 percent of its own territory
to Armenian occupation, but is not developing its relations with its
brothers in Islam, but with the aggressor.
All these arguments are only for those who insist to the public that
the Israeli recognition of the Armenian “genocide” does not affect
its relations with Azerbaijan.
A wise politician once remarked, not without humour, that Israel and
Azerbaijan are almost equally unlucky with their neighbours. This
observation contains not only the truth, but also a proportion of
bitterness. But this is the reality in which they live, our countries,
Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Two strategic partners interested in strengthening each other.
Two of countries with a maritime coast, who are not surrounded by
the most benevolent neighbours.
Two southern people with a similar mentality and a huge stock of
tolerance.
These are our countries. And we will not allow them to be at
loggerheads!