President Yitzchak Herzog is attending the CICA summit, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday, in a rare diplomatic gathering that includes the emir of Qatar, a senior Iranian representative, and foreign ministers from major regional and world powers.
But Israel's presence was not welcomed uniformly: delegations from Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority left the plenary hall before Herzog's address. Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, remained in his seat.
According to the seating plan published ahead of the summit, Herzog and the Iranian envoy are placed on the same side of the table, separated by just four seats. Between them sit Cambodia's prime minister, Vietnam's vice president, and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Bahrain. Qatar's emir sits on the opposite side of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who is hosting the gathering, while the foreign ministers of Russia and China are seated side by side.
Other participants at the conference include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, China's foreign minister, and senior officials from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other states.
The unusual route of Herzog's flight
According to a report by Middle East Eye, the president arrived in Azerbaijan on Wednesday aboard a commercial flight operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which passed through Turkish airspace.
The report refers to Turkey's ban on Israeli government aircraft crossing its territory. However, the ban does not apply to civilian flights to and from Israel, which are still permitted to use Turkish airspace.
According to Flightradar24 data cited in the report, flight J222 departed Tel Aviv at 11:35, crossed Turkish airspace and landed in Baku. The report also noted that footage of the president's arrival showed a Boeing 787-8 aircraft belonging to the Azerbaijani carrier, matching the type of plane recorded in the flight data. A spokesperson for the President's Office declined to comment on the flight details at this stage.
A Turkish official involved in the matter told the outlet that Azerbaijan had not informed Ankara that Israel's president was aboard the aircraft.
Azerbaijan as mediator between Israel and Turkey
The summit is taking place in a country that has previously served as a venue for contacts between Israel and Turkey. The two states have held talks in Azerbaijan aimed at creating a coordination channel to prevent military friction in Syria.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has explained in the past that his country maintains an alliance with Turkey alongside friendly relations with Israel, and that the tension between the two states is a source of concern in Baku.
