Defense Minister Israel Katz met with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov on Monday, thanking him for his country’s role in mediating relations between Israel and Turkey.
Relations hit a low during the war, but since Jerusalem and Ankara took over parts 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 facilitate potential relations with the new Syrian government, run by Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Though the IDF has denied that Israeli and Syrian officials have met directly, a variety of reports, including sources confirming directly to The Jerusalem Post, have alluded to various kinds of contacts between Israelis and Syrians since December.
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 Baku for its Eurovision votes, which awarded Israeli singer Yuval Raphael the maximum number of points, contributing 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, despite the fact that many countries globally have turned on Israel during the war, in part due to its multiple counter-invasions of Gaza.Jerusalem’s ties with Azerbaijan carry strategic value given the extensive border it shares with Iran.
Numerous foreign reports have discussed how Israeli agents have allegedly used that porous border to penetrate the Islamic Republic.