Baku once again emerges as a diplomatic hub: Could Hakan Fidan’s visit serve as a bridge between Ankara and Tel Aviv?

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is visiting Baku.

As part of his official visit to Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Fidan held a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov. Later, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

What outcomes could the visit have that are of particular importance for Azerbaijan?

Another important issue is Türkiye-Israel relations. It is widely known that Azerbaijan pursues a balanced policy on this matter. What steps could Azerbaijan take toward facilitating the normalization of Türkiye-Israel relations?

Speaking to TodayPress TV, political analyst Chingiz Shahbazi said the visit carries significance beyond that of an ordinary diplomatic trip:

“Given the current regional situation, Hakan Fidan’s visit to Baku on September 15-16 is noteworthy both in terms of coordinating Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations and managing the confrontation between Türkiye and Israel in the Middle East.

The main objectives of the visit include further deepening the strategic relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, defence and security cooperation, increasing bilateral trade turnover to $15 billion, energy and transport projects, the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process, and discussions on the Organization of Turkic States and COP31.”

According to the expert, the most important aspect of the visit is regional security, as Azerbaijan is currently one of the few countries that maintains relations with both Türkiye and Israel:

“Baku is in a position to play a mediating role between Tel Aviv and Ankara. Azerbaijan also holds a unique position in this regard. Azerbaijan has strategic relations with Israel as well as allied relations with Türkiye. This gives Baku the opportunity to become one of the few platforms where Türkiye and Israel can engage in dialogue with each other.

Baku has already undertaken mediation efforts in this direction several times. Last year, Turkish and Israeli representatives held talks in Baku regarding the situation in Syria. As you know, tensions between the two countries over the situation in Syria are currently rising again, and therefore Hakan Fidan’s visit to Baku creates favourable conditions for Azerbaijan’s mediation capabilities to come back onto the agenda.

Tensions between Israel and Türkiye are very serious, with the two sides issuing mutual threats. Ankara strongly criticizes Israel’s policy in Gaza. In addition, Türkiye and Israel have serious disagreements over Syria’s future, regional security and the balance of power in the Middle East.”

Shahbazi added that amid heightened tensions between Türkiye and Israel over Gaza and Syria, Hakan Fidan’s statements that Türkiye does not want to become involved in a regional war and prefers diplomacy, the International Crisis Group’s assessment that Türkiye’s ability to maintain contacts with various sides in the current regional crisis is an important diplomatic advantage, and Fidan’s return visit to Baku together clearly indicate the need for Baku’s mediation mission to help resolve the ongoing crisis:

“Hakan Fidan is not merely a traditional diplomat in Türkiye’s foreign policy. As a former intelligence chief, he is a figure who considers security and diplomacy together. Türkiye is already a country involved in mediation channels in the Russia-Ukraine war, the US-Iran crisis and other conflicts. Fidan’s visit to Baku can therefore also be considered strategically significant.

From this perspective, although the visit is being conducted in the context of Azerbaijan-Türkiye brotherhood and economic issues, I believe that behind the scenes, one of the most important topics is more closely related to the future of Türkiye-Israel relations, Azerbaijan’s role in shaping these relations, and a possible mediation mission. The idea that Azerbaijan could become a serious mediator between Türkiye and Israel is also being openly discussed in the international media.”

Giymat Mahir