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BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijan appointed its first ever ambassador to Israel on Wednesday amid escalating tensions with its massive southern neighbour Iran.
President Ilham Aliyev signed a presidential decree appointing Mukhtar Mammadov, a veteran official who has held posts within the overseas and schooling ministries, as Baku’s first envoy to Israel after 30 years of bilateral relations.
Israel has had an embassy in Baku for the reason that early Nineties and has been a major navy backer of Azerbaijan in recent times, together with diplomatic help for Baku in its standoff with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.
Azerbaijan additionally provides round 40% of Israel’s oil imports and each Aliyev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have hailed robust relations between their international locations.
Amid escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran over Baku’s shut relations with Israel, the Azeri parliament final November handed a legislation paving the best way for the nation to open its first embassy in Israel.
Iranian Overseas Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian final yr accused Israel of building a navy presence and secret alliance with Azerbaijan.
Baku rejected the claims, however Iran mounted large-scale navy workouts alongside the border with Azerbaijan and Aliyev responded by posing for pictures with Israeli kamikaze drones, that are manufactured in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s embassy can be positioned in Tel Aviv, the place the vast majority of overseas delegations are.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Nailia Bagirova and Jake Cordell; Modifying by Gareth Jones)
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