On November 18, the Azerbaijani parliament approved a bill on the opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv (Report.az, November 18). This is a historic decision, as until now, Azerbaijan had refused to reciprocate the opening of an Israeli embassy in Baku (August 29, 1993), most assuredly so as not to alienate the other Muslim countries in the region and to ensure their support in the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Israel’s outgoing prime minister, Yair Lapid, welcomed Baku’s decision and said that this “reflects the depth of relations between the two countries,” calling the new embassy “the fruit of the Israeli government’s efforts to build strong political bridges with the Muslim world” (Report.az, November 18).
In Unprecedented Move, Baku Opens Embassy in Tel Aviv – Jamestown
