Azerbaijan president says ‘doing everything to facilitate’ Israel-Turkey rapprochement

An Israeli source confirms that Jerusalem and Ankara have been holding technical talks aimed at establishing a deconfliction mechanism for Syria, Channel 12 news reports.

The source tells the network that “a mechanism will be established, similar to the one built between Israel and Russia.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said earlier tonight in a live broadcast on private broadcaster CNN Turk that the two countries have been discussing the matter when needed.

At the annual ADA University Policy Forum in Baku earlier today, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev referenced his country’s past role in facilitating Israeli-Turkish ties, noting that “both countries are close friends of Azerbaijan.”

“We hope that the process will lead to normalization. I think, despite the legitimate concerns and despite the quite a high level of mistrust, there can still be found grounds for normalization and areas of mutual interest,” Aliyev adds. “So the process, to my mind, should not stop, and Azerbaijan is doing everything in its position to facilitate the process.”