"What I am doing is the right thing for the State of Israel – to reach a broad agreement that the majority of the public supports, an agreement that will allow us to get out of the strait and from the difficult period that threatens to tear us apart from within," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Wednesday, referring to talks taking place under his auspices on the issue of legal reform. The president said the days at the end of a quick visit to Azerbaijan.
Herzog made it clear that as far as he was concerned, there was no deadline for talks. "The discussions don't get smeared. These are in-depth discussions that try to create an infrastructure for solutions. A lot of ideas came up in them, and the attempt is to create an outline that includes basic principles, and from that outline we get down to the details."
He warned that Israel's enemies recognize the internal fissures and may exploit them, as they did during the last Passover holiday when Israel was attacked simultaneously from three fronts (from the north, Gaza and Judea and Samaria).
The president's entourage rejected claims of lack of confidence in the talks. A senior source said that quite a few spins are being circulated outside that contradict what is happening in the discussion room. "There is trust between the parties. There is goodwill. This is a serious dialogue, and the people understand very well the magnitude of the hour. These are issues that will have an impact for generations, and a lot is at stake. The talks are serious, and they make it possible to create a solution."
Herzog spoke at the end of a day-long visit to Azerbaijan. The essence of the visit was a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, who was invited for a reciprocal visit to Israel. Last night, Herzog met with hundreds of senior figures in Azerbaijan's economy, economy and politics, and this morning met with the heads of the country's Jewish community, which numbers between 15,25 and <>,<> people.
Herzog and his wife in Baku, Photo: Haim Tzach / GPO
A major part of the president's meetings in Azerbaijan was devoted to the Iranian issue. Azerbaijan, which is predominantly Shiite, sees Iran as a major threat to its security and regime stability, and maintains close security cooperation with Israel, including massive procurement of advanced combat systems and technologies.
Israel even assisted Azerbaijan's war against Armenia, and as a result enjoys great popularity in the country, which was also reflected in President Aliyev's decision to open an Azerbaijani embassy in Israel for the first time.
In Herzog's meetings, it was also agreed to deepen the various cooperation between the countries. Israel offered Azerbaijan – a regional gas power – to invest in various gas projects in Israel, while Azerbaijan expressed interest in deepening tourism ties between the countries. The Azeris are interested in turning their country into an attractive tourist destination for Israel, similar to Georgia, and are expected to enable an increase in the frequency of direct flights between the countries soon.
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