Author: Ophelia Vardapetian

AL-Monitor


February 9, 2022

[Taking relations with Ankara one step at a time, Jerusalem could opt
for a soft-diplomatic multi-national alliance with Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.]

Israeli Ambassador to Washington Michael Herzog met Feb. 3 with
Turkish Ambassador Hasan Murat Mercan, considered a close associate of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two met at a dinner hosted by Azerbaijan ambassador to Washington
Khazar Ibrahim, who also invited the ambassadors from Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan.

It was an unusual event. Israel maintains diplomatic relations with
all the four countries, but ties are complicated.

With Turkey, relations have been cold for over a decade, though
Turkish leadership has been trying in recent months to change that.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had called Israeli President
Isaac Herzog twice, first to congratulate him on taking office, and
then to express his condolences for the death of his mother. Herzog
called Erdogan to wish him well after the Turkish leader got infected
with coronavirus. In recent days, Erdogan said more than once that he
expects a visit from Herzog in Ankara next month.

Bilateral ties with Azerbaijan have been particularly warm for many
years. Still, following the Nagorno-Karabakh 2020 conflict and
accusations by Armenia that Israel supplied its rival with attack
drones and other weapons, these ties have come under public scrutiny.

Relations with Uzbekistan are of particular importance to Israel
because of its proximity to Iran. The Jewish community there is one of
the oldest in the world, and the two countries have nurtured
development cooperation projects in recent years. As token of
friendship and support, Israel’s ambassador to the country, Zehavit
Ben Hillel, delivered a significant contribution of anti-COVID medical
equipment to the children’s hospital of Tashkent last month.

Kazakhstan is also significant for Israel strategically. The two
countries maintain close contacts in the defense and intelligence
sectors. Israel’s newly appointed Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Edwin
Yabo, just marked 30 years to bilateral diplomatic ties.

Reportedly, Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the
Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, was the one
who initiated the meeting, after discussing it beforehand separately
with all parties. His idea was simple – to build up a soft-diplomacy
alliance in fields such as cultural exchange or preservation of Jewish
heritage in central Asia. When such a cooperation would be put in
place, the five countries could move to more ambitious multinational
cooperation in trade, energy and even security.

For Jerusalem, the idea is interesting. Deepening alliances with
Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is strategically important
because of Iran, but also because of other issues such as purchasing
oil, selling security equipment, and enhancing Israel’s trade
relations. Getting Turkey into the picture, of course, has an added
value for Israel. It would enable Jerusalem to test the Turkish water
and see if Ankara is really sincere in its statements in favor of
rapprochement.

These statements, and the amicable phone calls placed recently between
the two presidents, were indeed put to test yesterday. Speaking to
reporters Feb. 8, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, "Any
step we take with Israel regarding our relations, any normalization,
will not be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, like some other
countries," apparently referring to the normalization agreements
signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Another negative sign was the Turkish decision yesterday to charge 16
people, among them Palestinians and Syrians, for espionage. The
decision followed the arrest last October of these students, with
Ankara announcing it had cracked a Mossad spy network. Israeli experts
and media claimed from the beginning the affair was fabricated, and
that Mossad did not operate any such ring. Jerusalem now wonders
what’s really behind this decision, and how come Cavusoglu made his
rather negative statement exactly on the same day as the indictment.