(Read the full article on Dailysabah.com)

For the first time in a long while, some positive news has emerged regarding Turkey-Israel relations. It seems that years after the Davos and Mavi Marmara incidents, both countries are seeking ways to improve relations with each other. According to the Turkish media, the invitation extended to Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz to attend the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to be held in June was seen as a new chance to improve relations. It can be said that this invitation was expected after Arab countries normalized their relations with Israel, the Daily Sabah reported.

In fact, the signing of the agreement between Israel and Turkey in June 2016 and the paying of a $20 million (TL 167.06 million) compensation to the victims of the Mavi Marmara incident could have been a new beginning for the relations, but regional power projections prevented this. The two former allies engaging in a new geopolitical struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean had undesirable consequences for both, the Daily Sabah said.

Normalization of relations between Turkey and Israel is one of the main goals of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, which even aims to further this into trilateral cooperation. This is because soured relations between its strategic partner Turkey and its ally Israel have created certain discontent in foreign policy for Azerbaijan as well. While the concerted efforts of the 90s were beneficial to the trilateral cooperation, the currently existing breach in the relations of the trio creates difficulties in achieving the desired results. Azerbaijani Presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev’s statement that Baku is ready to host the trilateral summit of Turkey and Israel aims to revive the coordination and joint activity of the three countries. This is entirely possible given the recent thawing of relations between Turkey and Israel, according to the news organisation.

The Azerbaijan-Turkey-Israel trilateral relations established in the 90s should be considered exemplary as the earliest trilateral cooperation established in the South Caucasus region. Cooperation at that time had several important dimensions: to have a more powerful position in regional balance, to expand military and energy cooperation and to ensure inter-diaspora cooperation in the West. When we look back at the cooperation between diasporas, a successful struggle was carried out against the aggressive attacks of the Armenian diaspora, especially in the U.S. Congress.