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Israel important strategic partner, says top aid to Azerbaijan president
15:40 * 27.01.15
Azerbaijan views Israel as a "very important" ally and strategic
partner, Ali Hasanov, a senior adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, said
on Monday, according to Jerusalem Post.
Hasanov's comments followed a meeting he had with a small Israeli
delegation to Baku, led by Acre Mayor Shimon Lankry, who is building a
community center in his town for the some 9,000 Azerbaijani Jews - or
20 percent of his city - who live there.
Hasanov said the ties between his country, a secular Muslim state that
borders Iran to the north, and Israel will continue to develop and
flourish "despite the pressures."
"We have relations with all countries of the world according to our
interests," he said, including
countries that are enemies and rivals of one another.
He pointed to Azerbaijan's ties with the US and Russia as one example
and its ties with Israel and Iran, as well as with Israel and Turkey,
perhaps Baku's closest ally, as another.
Hasanov, accompanied Aliyev for meetings with Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month and said that at no time did anyone
there ask Azerbaijan to cut or cool down its rapidly developing
relations with Israel.
With Israel buying 40% of its oil from Azerbaijan, and considering
that country's geography, it is clear why ties between the two states
are so important for Jerusalem.
Hasanov said that among the reasons Israel is so significant to
Azerbaijan is because it is a very important state in the Middle East
and also because of its advanced technology.
Also, he said, good ties with Israel help Azerbaijan in Washington,
both through Jewish groups active in the capital and through the many
discussions Israeli leaders have with their American counterparts.
The countries also have a very robust defense relationship.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman earlier this month put the annual
amount of bilateral trade between the two countries at more than $5
billion, more than Israel trades with France.
Hasanov said the ties are an outgrowth of a strong historical
relationship between Azerbaijanis and Jews, with the Jewish community
in that country going back some 2,500 years.
There are an estimated 9,000 Jews in Azerbaijan, and tens of thousands
of Azerbaijani Jews in Israel.
Some 92% of Azerbaijan's population of 9.4 million are Muslims, with
65% of them being Shi'ite. Hasanov said it was "very important" for
Israel to develop ties with Islamic states, and that Azerbaijan - a
member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference - can be an
example of an Islamic state that has good relations with Israel.
The relations can show other Muslim states that even if there are
things with which there are
disagreements with Israel, there are other areas where there are
agreements and it is possible to cooperate, Hasanov said.
On Tuesday, the Baku International Multiculturalism Center is to hold
an event commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, one of
the very few events marking the Holocaust to be held in an Islamic
country.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/27/israel-azerbaijan/1571381
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
15:40 * 27.01.15
Azerbaijan views Israel as a "very important" ally and strategic
partner, Ali Hasanov, a senior adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, said
on Monday, according to Jerusalem Post.
Hasanov's comments followed a meeting he had with a small Israeli
delegation to Baku, led by Acre Mayor Shimon Lankry, who is building a
community center in his town for the some 9,000 Azerbaijani Jews - or
20 percent of his city - who live there.
Hasanov said the ties between his country, a secular Muslim state that
borders Iran to the north, and Israel will continue to develop and
flourish "despite the pressures."
"We have relations with all countries of the world according to our
interests," he said, including
countries that are enemies and rivals of one another.
He pointed to Azerbaijan's ties with the US and Russia as one example
and its ties with Israel and Iran, as well as with Israel and Turkey,
perhaps Baku's closest ally, as another.
Hasanov, accompanied Aliyev for meetings with Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month and said that at no time did anyone
there ask Azerbaijan to cut or cool down its rapidly developing
relations with Israel.
With Israel buying 40% of its oil from Azerbaijan, and considering
that country's geography, it is clear why ties between the two states
are so important for Jerusalem.
Hasanov said that among the reasons Israel is so significant to
Azerbaijan is because it is a very important state in the Middle East
and also because of its advanced technology.
Also, he said, good ties with Israel help Azerbaijan in Washington,
both through Jewish groups active in the capital and through the many
discussions Israeli leaders have with their American counterparts.
The countries also have a very robust defense relationship.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman earlier this month put the annual
amount of bilateral trade between the two countries at more than $5
billion, more than Israel trades with France.
Hasanov said the ties are an outgrowth of a strong historical
relationship between Azerbaijanis and Jews, with the Jewish community
in that country going back some 2,500 years.
There are an estimated 9,000 Jews in Azerbaijan, and tens of thousands
of Azerbaijani Jews in Israel.
Some 92% of Azerbaijan's population of 9.4 million are Muslims, with
65% of them being Shi'ite. Hasanov said it was "very important" for
Israel to develop ties with Islamic states, and that Azerbaijan - a
member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference - can be an
example of an Islamic state that has good relations with Israel.
The relations can show other Muslim states that even if there are
things with which there are
disagreements with Israel, there are other areas where there are
agreements and it is possible to cooperate, Hasanov said.
On Tuesday, the Baku International Multiculturalism Center is to hold
an event commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, one of
the very few events marking the Holocaust to be held in an Islamic
country.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/01/27/israel-azerbaijan/1571381
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress