Israeli President Isaac Herzog bypassed a Turkish ban on using its airspace to travel to Baku on Wednesday by flying on a commercial Azerbaijan Airlines jet, sparking outrage in Ankara. Turkish officials later said they were not aware Herzog was on the commercial jet. Turkey had previously denied Herzog permission to fly over its airspace for a trip to Azerbaijan in 2024, resulting in Herzog cancelling his plans to attend the COP29 conference held in Baku.
The news came amidst sharpened tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which appears to have been set off by Azerbaijan’s controversial ban on hijabs in schools. At the same time, Ankara has long bristled at Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel, and some Turkish commentators have connected the two issues, claiming Baku’s alleged disrespect of Islam can be partially explained by its friendship with Israel.
OC MediaNate Ostiller
On Friday, the prominent Azerbaijani pro-government outlet APA published an article criticising the Turkish ‘uproar’ over the flight, saying ‘the matter is quite simple’.
‘No special aircraft or unusual flight was arranged for the Israeli President’s visit to Azerbaijan. He arrived in Azerbaijan as a passenger on a commercial flight’, APA wrote.
‘In Turkey, however, those who look for a pretext concerning Azerbaijan every time and “scrutinise” it have turned this issue into a subject of manipulation as well’, APA continued.
Other Azerbaijani media outlets also covered the flight, arguing there was no need to notify Turkey that Herzog was using its airspace because he used a commercial jet.
Herzog was in Azerbaijan to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). While in the country he also held a one-on-one meeting with President Ilham Aliyev.
During the summit, Herzog gave a speech, prompting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and others to stage a walk-out. Videos of the incident were spread widely on social media.