This Muslim country is openly standing with Israel, selling oil and buying weapons

Israel has become the leader in the list of countries importing oil from Azerbaijan. Despite many international pressures, both the countries have increased their cooperation. Azerbaijan published its oil export data for January 2024 during the security conference in Munich on 16-18 February. Data shows that Israel ranks first in the table of oil exporting countries. Data from Azerbaijan shows that it exported 523.5 thousand tonnes to Israel. This was around $297 million. This figure is much higher than Thailand, Italy and other countries that import oil from Azerbaijan.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Munich itself. Aliyev’s office in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, released a statement regarding the meeting between him and his Israeli counterpart. The statement said the two presidents discussed various areas of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel, including commercial, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations. On one hand, ignoring the pressure from Muslim countries, Azerbaijan is selling oil to Israel and at the same time it is also buying weapons from it.

Israel-Azerbaijan relations growing amid international pressure

Reports from Muslim-majority Azerbaijan indicate that President Aliyev has continued his policy of promoting relations with Israel despite international pressure over the Gaza war. Israeli officials and Jewish leaders attending the security conference in Munich expressed concern about the Diaspora Ministry’s latest report on the state of anti-Semitism in the world. This indicates a very worrying increase in anti-Semitism. It also talks about the increase in anti-Jewish sentiments in Armenia.

The Diaspora Ministry reports that anti-Semitic discussion in Armenia is largely influenced by relations between Israel and Azerbaijan and Israel’s defense exports. These relations cause anger in Armenian society because of the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The report says Armenians have chosen to focus exclusively on Israel. This shows that anti-Semitism in Armenia runs deep and is influenced by external events.