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Azerbaijan Opens Embassy in Israel amid Tension with Iran

Bayramov and Cohen during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Bayramov and Cohen during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
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Azerbaijan Opens Embassy in Israel amid Tension with Iran

Bayramov and Cohen during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Bayramov and Cohen during a press conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday. (Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov inaugurated Wednesday his country’s embassy in Tel Aviv.

Azerbaijan appointed its first ever ambassador to Israel on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions with its large southern neighbor Iran.

The step could worsen the trust crisis between Baku and its southern neighbor Tehran.

Bayramov arrived Wednesday morning in Tel Aviv and kicked off a series of meetings with politicians and economists.

He intends to visit Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Bayramov commenced his meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

Cohen said that they discussed fostering bilateral ties in economy, energy, education, academia, culture, sports, and more.

The Israeli FM stated that he intends to come on an official visit to Baku in the coming weeks at the head of an economic delegation.

"The opening of the Azeri embassy in Israel is further evidence of the strengthening of relations between our countries. Azerbaijan is a Muslim country, and its strategic location makes the relationship between us of great importance and great potential,” Cohen said.

“I agreed with Foreign Minister Bayramov on forming a united front against Iran and strengthening our cooperation in the fields of economy, security, energy, and innovation. I will soon go on a political visit to Baku together with a large economic delegation, which will further deepen the commercial ties between Israel and Azerbaijan," he added.

Bayramov stated that there is a joint purpose for both countries to cooperate to reach a strategic partnership that helps achieve regional peace and stability.

The Azerbaijani FM noted that Israel provides his country with huge and major aid to maintain its territories' safety and security and to restore parts occupied by Armenia.

Bayramov also pointed out an 85% growth in the trade turnover between the two countries in 2022.

Bayramov added that 114 Israeli companies operate in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani oil makes up about 30% of the oil consumed by Israel.

Israel and Azerbaijan have had official ties for 30 years, and Israel first opened its embassy in Baku in 1993.

Israel was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991.

Mukhtar Mammadov, the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Israel, presented on Monday his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Herzog said that Azerbaijan is the first Shiite country to open an embassy in Israel.

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Trump Administration Proposes Scrapping UN Peacekeeping Funding 

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Trump Administration Proposes Scrapping UN Peacekeeping Funding 

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)

The White House budget office has proposed eliminating funding for United Nations peacekeeping missions, citing failures by operations in Mali, Lebanon and Democratic Republic of Congo, according to internal planning documents seen by Reuters.

Washington is the UN's largest contributor - with China second - accounting for 22% of the $3.7 billion core regular UN budget and 27% of the $5.6 billion peacekeeping budget. These payments are mandatory.

The proposed peacekeeping cuts are included in a so-called "Passback," the response by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to State Department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on October 1. The overall plan wants to slash the State Department budget by about half.

The new budget must be approved by Congress, and lawmakers could decide to restore some or all of the funding the administration has proposed cutting.

The State Department was due to respond to the OMB proposal on Tuesday. During US President Donald Trump's first term he proposed cutting about a third of diplomacy and aid budgets. But Congress, which sets the federal government budget, pushed back on Trump's proposal.

"There is no final plan, final budget," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the OMB proposals.

The OMB has proposed ending Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA).

"For example, Passback provides no funding for CIPA, ending contributions for international peacekeeping due to the recent failures in peacekeeping, such as with MINUSMA, UNIFIL, and MONUSCO, and the disproportionately high level of assessments," according to an excerpt from the Passback.

US IN ARREARS

The United Nations peacekeeping budget funds nine missions in Mali, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Kosovo, between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Abyei, an administrative area that is jointly run by South Sudan and Sudan.

The OMB Passback also proposed the creation of a $2.1 billion America First Opportunities Fund (A1OF), which it said would be used to cover a limited set of foreign economic and development assistance priorities.

"Should the Administration seek to pay any assessments for the United Nations Regular Budget or peacekeeping assessments, we would look to provide that funding from the A1OF," read the OMB Passback.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday declined to comment on "what appears to be a leaked memo that is part of an internal debate within the US government."

The US owes - for arrears and the current fiscal year - nearly $1.5 billion for the regular UN budget and nearly $1.2 billion for the peacekeeping budget. A country can be up to two years in arrears before facing the possible repercussion of losing its vote in the 193-member General Assembly.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month said he is seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.