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US Congressman: â€œIsrael’s strongest friends in the region is Azerbaijanâ€

29 May 2010 16:53 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Izabel. Levin â€“ APA. â€œIt is important that US pays greater attention to Azerbaijan for economic, strategic and security reasons. And, in particular respond affirmatively to Azerbaijan either when it cooperates with the United States in these areas or demonstrates that a Muslim nation both can and should have positive relations with the State of Israelâ€, said US Congressman Daniel B. Maffei in his remarks on â€œAzerbaijan and Israel: Good friends under siege from Iranâ€, in Washington DC, APAâ€™s Washington correspondent reports.

He pointed out that, â€œUnfortunately, good relations between the State of Israel and Muslim nations are the exception rather than the rule. Given this situation, it would be surprising to most to learn that one of Israel’s strongest friends in the region is Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic, with over a 90 percent Shi’ite population that has adopted a secular style completely opposed to Iran’s sectarian government. Azerbaijan has chosen a very different path from that of its southern neighbor, even though there are over 20 million ethnic Azeris living in Iran, including the Grand Ayatollah himself, who is of Azeri descentâ€.

According to the Congressman, one possible explanation for Azerbaijan’s positive relationship with Israel is the presence of a strong Jewish community in Azerbaijan for over 2,500 years. â€œBy all accounts, these Azeri Jews have always been well treated and never subject to the types of discrimination and hostility that confronted Jews, not just in Muslim nations, but the Christian nations of Europeâ€.

â€œOn a political front, Israel and Azerbaijan cooperate closely on security issues. Israel supplies significant military equipment to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan provides Israel with valuable intelligence support, particularly regarding Iran. The two nations also work together to combat the growth of radical Islam.
The close political, cultural, economic and security relations between Israel and a majority Shi’a but secular Azerbaijan present a model that needs to be encouraged, cultivated and spread throughout the Muslim world. However, this will not happen by itself, and, unless the United States begins to focus more on Azerbaijan’s importance in the region, the very existence of this positive Azeri-Israeli relationship could be put in jeopardyâ€, - he added.