Azerbaijan appoints first ambassador to Israel

On Thursday Azerbaijan confirmed the appointment of its first-ever ambassador to Israel, just weeks after it approved opening a Tel Aviv embassy.

The embassy will make Azerbaijan the first Shiite-majority country to open a full diplomatic outpost in Israel since Iran cut all ties following its 1979 revolution.

Israeli and Azeri reports have tipped the former Soviet state’s Deputy Education Minister Mukhtar Mammadov, who has worked extensively on science and education links with Israel, for the job.

The appointment came just less than 48 hours after Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fariz Rzayev touched down for an official visit to Israel.

Speaking in the wake of the announcement, Mr Rzayev said “the sky is the limit” for Azeri-Israeli ties.

I was pleased to meet Deputy FM of Azerbaijan, Fariz Rzayev, and discuss the upcoming opening of the embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel, a major step forward in the relations between our countries 🇦🇿🇮🇱. An insightful conversation on bilateral and regional affairs. pic.twitter.com/grqA0UM6zj
— Alon Ushpiz (@AlonUshpiz) December 30, 2022

Israel has an established energy partnership with the Caspian nation, which shares a 700km border with north west Iran.

Since 2012 Jerusalem has imported the vast majority of its oil from Baku via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Military links are also strong, with Israeli firms accounting for 69 per cent of Azerbaijan’s major arms imports between 2016 and 2020.

The countries’ rapid rapprochement since Azerbaijan gained independence from the anti-Israel USSR in 1992 last month culminated in the former’s parliamentary approval of an embassy in Israel.

A loading bay for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that supplies Israel with Azeri gas (Getty)

“The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relationship between our countries. This move is the result of the Israeli government’s efforts to build strong diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world,” then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid stated at the time of the vote.

Israel opened its embassy in Baku in 1992 following Azeri independence from the USSR.

While ethnic Azeris make up around 16 per cent of the Islamic republic’s population, ties between the two Shiite-majority states have cooled in recent years as Azerbaijan has sought a warmer relationship with the US, Turkey and Israel.

In 2020, war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia that resulted in the former conquering parts of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, including entry-points to Iran.

While Moscow brokered a ceasefire after six weeks, the conflict left around 6,000 soldiers dead and Armenia has experienced bombardment close to its Azeri border as recent as September.

Iran has since sought to ramp-up its cooperation with Armenia. While the Christian state is a member of the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Moscow has ignored its calls for assistance while Iran, keen to counter Azerbaijan's links with Turkey and Israel, is more than keen to fill the vacuum.

In November Azerbaijan announced the arrests of five people accused of pro-Iran espionage, just days after Baku and Tehran both claimed the other was engaged in hostile rhetoric. Meanwhile, Tehran continues to accuse its northern neighbour of fuelling internal tensions.