ANKARA — Turkey successfully blocked Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation within the COP29 summit in Baku earlier this week by denying permission for his plane to fly over Turkish airspace, official Turkish sources confirmed to Al-Monitor on Sunday.
Forward of the COP29 summit, which occurred in Baku from Nov. 12-13, Israeli officers submitted a request for Herzog’s plane to fly by Turkish airspace en path to the Azerbaijani capital.
“Permission for flyover was not granted,” official Turkish sources instructed Al-Monitor, confirming preliminary studies within the Azerbaijani media outlet Qafqazinfo earlier Sunday.
Of the 2 major flight routes from Israel to Baku, one entails passing over Iran, whereas the opposite requires use of Turkish airspace.
Herzog was set to guide the Israeli delegation on the summit, however his go to was canceled earlier this month, with the Israeli presidency citing safety causes for the cancellation, in keeping with Israeli media studies. The Israeli delegation, which included the ministers for environmental safety, vitality, and transportation, in the end traveled to Baku, although it stays unclear which route they took. No additional requests for flyover rights had been submitted to Turkey, and constitution flights between Tel Aviv and Baku proceed to function as regular.
Makes an attempt by Azerbaijani officers to acquire Turkey’s approval for the flight had been unsuccessful, in keeping with Azerbaijani media.
In March 2022, Herzog grew to become the primary Israeli president to go to Turkey since 2007, amid efforts to normalize Turkey-Israel ties after greater than a decade of turbulent relations largely attributable to disagreements over the Palestinian concern. By August of the identical yr, the 2 nations reinstated ambassadors, signifying a full normalization of ties. Nevertheless, this détente was short-lived.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has positioned himself as a robust supporter of the Palestinian trigger, has intensified criticism of Israel following the Hamas-Israel battle that started on Oct. 7. In late October, Israel introduced it was reassessing diplomatic ties with Turkey, indicating that its ambassador wouldn’t return to Ankara after departing attributable to safety issues amid large-scale anti-Israel protests.
In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel in November 2023. Turkey doesn’t classify Hamas as a terrorist group, and the group’s political leaders are capable of journey freely inside the nation. On Oct. 28, Turkish Overseas Minister Hakan Fidan met with high figures in Hamas’ political wing, simply two days after Israeli forces killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.
