With the return of the Armenian ambassador, Israel was marked as having taken a side in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - the Azeri side • "Azerbaijan is a Muslim country with energy reserves, which agreed to sell us oil when many countries did not," explains a security source. - We will not break them now "
The funeral of an Armenian soldier killed in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Photography:
EPA
Last night (Thursday), the State of Israel officially became a party to the long-running conflict in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan, following the Armenian government's announcement of the return of the ambassador to Israel for consultations.
The reason for the Armenian anger stems from the fact that Israel - according to foreign publications - supplies sophisticated weapons, mainly as UAVs to the Azeri army, and it uses this weapon against the Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The countries and why in general Israel has become a party in the struggle between the countries to the point of such a significant confrontation with one of the parties.
Ancient conflict and strategic alliance
Dr. Chen Bram of the Truman Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Academic College explains that the war in the Caucasus dates back to Stalin's regime in the Soviet Union, and that both Israel and Azerbaijan have interests that made the parties very close allies. And Armenians, and within the framework of the Soviet Union's rule during the Stalin era, the enclave in Nagorno-Karabakh became an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan in a way that made the Azeri majority the decision-makers on the region as well.
But everything changed with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
"There was a national ethnic tension between the Armenians and the Azeris, and it turned into a civil war and a war between two countries: on the one hand, Armenia, which supported the Armenian minority in the region, and on the other, the Azeris who wanted rule in the region."
The results of the war were severe for Azerbaijan, the Armenians not only conquered the Nagorno-Karabakh region but forced a land route to the region and led to a significant part of Azerbaijan becoming an independent Armenian state that is not recognized internationally.
As a result, about a million citizens also became refugees and the confrontation became long-standing and bloody between two sides who are not at all willing to admit the possibility that the other side also has a share in the land.
"This case in the Caucasus has been violated in recent years because the Azeri refugees and especially their sons are pressuring the central government in Baku to do something about it," explains Dr. Bram.
The Azars gained intelligence
But here the story only begins for Israel.
According to Dr. Bram “the Azeris are a modern Muslim state that sees itself as part of the moderate Islamic world.
That is why it was very important for her to make contact with Israel.
The Azeris thus gained sophisticated weapons, intelligence knowledge and also Israeli political support which was important to them.
They also highlighted even in monuments in the country the injustice done to them in the war.
On the other hand, Israel had a great achievement here, Azerbaijan is an energy-rich country, it is also a huge center of energy transport to Europe and the Middle East, there are many intersections of lines and infrastructure that pass through the country.
Therefore, Israel has gained an important and rare strategic connection with a Muslim country, moderate, very rich, influential, which also paid well for Israeli military technology and a great deal of knowledge.
It is important to emphasize that Azerbaijan has also assisted Israel behind the scenes in relations with the Gulf states and moderate Muslim countries.
"I myself saw in Beko meetings between Israelis and senior officials in the Arab world years before these became official in Israel," Dr. Baram adds to explain Israel's profits from the context.
Another important connection of interests that Dr. Bram is talking about, is Iran, "The Azeris are not good with the extremist Iranian government, in this matter they are threatened with Iran and here too it was very good for them that Israel would act from them and gather information about Iran.
I do not know if this happened, but it is clear why the two countries see things eye to eye and cooperate. "It must be added that cooperation with the Azeris, according to foreign sources, also includes the Mossad's actions into Iran from the common border with the two countries. It also exploits the large Azeri minority and its support for the mother country.
But cooperation with Azerbaijan has brought Israel into indirect conflict with the Armenians. "This is a difficult mountainous area, complex for combat where a civilian population mixed with armies and Azeris is very comfortable using Israeli knowledge. ", Explains Dr. Bram.
"The Armenians are very angry on the other hand. They claim that the Azeris are killing civilians with Israeli weapons and that the knowledge passed on to the Azeris also requires the presence of Israelis on the ground next to the decision makers. If we add the Armenian anger over the Israeli Armenian Holocaust in Turkey, Israel, which was supposed to understand them, "he concludes.
An alliance with an ancient historical dimension
Dr. Eldad Pardo, a senior researcher at the Truman Institute and one of the top Iranian researchers in the world, explains that there is another intersection of interests between Israel and Azerbaijan against Armenia. "In Iran there is a huge Azeri minority. It is part of the great Iran that was established by the Safavid rulers centuries ago.
On the other hand, for the Azeris, Iran will always fall apart and be swallowed up inside Azerbaijan.
The Azeris claim that the Safavid regime was Turkish and that Iran became Shiite (both Shiite countries) because of the Safavid rulers who were Turkish Azeris.
This actually creates an interesting situation, the Iranians say that Azerbaijan will be swallowed up in them and the Azeris see the opposite.
Therefore, it is clear why the Azeris are actually threatened by Iran and are happy to cooperate on many issues with Israel. "
Dr. Pardo adds in this connection as well as Dr. Baram that "in Azerbaijan there has always been a good attitude and love for the Jews while in Iran there has always been a bad attitude towards the Jews."
In fact Dr. Fredo says that “it turns out that the deep historical context plays a role and strengthens both sides.
Israel is comfortable working with Azerbaijan because Jews have always been accepted in the country and the treatment of them as a minority has been very good.
"If you add to that the economic power and resources of the country, you can understand why Israel is so interested in and in connection with the Azeris."
The Aryan connection
Paradoxically, Dr. Pardo points to an interesting ethnic link between Iran, Armenia and Germany and, on the other hand, between Azerbaijan and Turkey and Israel. "In fact, both the current conflict and the conflict are part of an ethnic gap between two cultures.
The Iranians, Armenians and Germans are Indo-Europeans, ie in fact the so-called Aryan race.
Therefore there is a deep and national attitude and a sense of belonging between these countries and the fact that Iran despite being a Shiite supports Armenia.
On the other hand the Azeris are a Turkish tribe, they speak a Turkish dialect, they are not Aryans so they feel a very great alienation to the lions of Armenia.
They are very much connected to Turkey and the Semitic Middle East of which Israel is a part.
This is also the reason for the use Muslim country and even Shiite supported by Israel and the Christian state is supported by Shi'ite Iran, "he explains.
Dr. Pardo noted that" this conflict is also very sharp because most of the region rich Iran and non-words is near the border of Azerbaijan. That is "The Iranians are very threatened by the Azeris and vice versa, so it is clear why both sides are working against each other instead of being allies."
In this regard, Dr. Baram adds that "it is a pity that Israel entered the conflict as a party.
We can understand both the Azeris and the Armenians and mediate between the parties.
It is a pity that they got into such a bloody confrontation where there are no righteous and both sides are right, "he says.
"There are existing contracts"
A senior Israeli security source told Israel Today that "the reason for Israel's good relations with Azerbaijan is not related to its border with Iran, that is, not directly. The reason for the connection is the fact that Azerbaijan is a Muslim country that wanted to contact us openly. It was willing to sell oil to Israel, even when oil was a valuable commodity in the world. I am aware that there are those who say that Israel has a common border with Iran, ie a country that has a border with Iran, but at this point for example the situation is similar in the case of Armenia. "The Islamic Republic. Therefore, it was not the reason that the good connection between the country was created, but the important political gain, because it is a Muslim country and also the field of energy."
"True, now Israel finds itself in an awkward situation. But the agreements were signed long before the current military confrontation. They have no connection to it and Israel is bound by a legal contract here. That is, it is not that Israel supports the conflict, is a party to the conflict or is not. "There are just existing contracts. That's the basis for the relationship."
And what about espionage operations?
Is it good for us to have contact with such a country?
You are spying with the one who gives you, the fact that there is a common border does not necessarily distinguish the Azeris, so regardless of what Israel did or not - this is not the reason at all for the warm connection with the Azeris.
Armenia will not sever ties with Israel
Regarding the end of this conflict, Dr. Avinoam Idan from Haifa University, an expert on the former USSR region, Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia and an energy policy expert who previously served 7 years as a delegate to the Israeli mission in Moscow, estimates that the USSR disbanded. "Armenia will not sever relations with Israel.
This is the return of an ambassador to express anger, but it should be understood that with Azerbaijan, Israel has a deep array of relations that are related to energy, weapons as well as historical national connection and good relations.
That is why Israel has deep relations with the Azeris, but this will not lead to a severance of relations with Armenia. "