17 May, 2006
The President of Azerbaijan has reportedly said that his country will open an embassy in Israel. A Jewish Azeri legislator, Yevda Abramov, told the newspaper 'Baku Today' that the issue was raised last month when Azeri President Ilham Aliyev visited Washington and met with Jewish leaders. Aliyev pledged to open an embassy “shortly,” according to Baku Today. Israel has had an embassy in the largely Muslim former Soviet republic since 1993. Azerbaijan so far resisted opening an diplomatic post in Tel Aviv because of its good relations with neighboring Iran.
