The Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, is set to participate in a regional summit taking place in Baku on Thursday. This summit is being held under conditions of rising tensions between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Turkey's closest ally, due to Azerbaijan's new restrictions on religious clothing in public schools and its close relations with Israel.
Tensions in Turkey-Israel Relations
Relations between Turkey and Israel have reached their lowest point, particularly following the events in Gaza and the situation in Syria, tensions have increased. Israeli officials now consider Turkey to be among threats similar to Iran.
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Israeli President's Presence in Baku
The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, arrived in Baku on Wednesday and is set to meet and discuss with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. Herzog will also participate in the seventh Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, where Fidan will represent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Additionally, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, will also attend this summit, and it is likely that Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, will participate as well.
The CICA summit theoretically provides opportunities for hostile countries and mediators to converse with each other on the sidelines. Aliyev has played a crucial role in creating a mechanism to reduce tensions between Turkey and Israel and brought both parties together in a meeting in Baku in April 2025. However, concerns about the potential for accidental conflict continue following Israel's bombing of the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria on August 18. Israel stated that this action was based on intelligence indicating that Turkey was preparing to deploy forces and radar systems at this base. Damascus has also described these attacks as aggressive and illegal.
These diplomatic efforts may be overshadowed by Fidan's attempts to improve relations with Baku. The ruling party in Azerbaijan issued a sharp statement on Wednesday, criticizing Erdoğan's senior advisor for commenting on the restrictions on school uniform and teachers' clothing in public schools.
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