Turkey blocked Israeli President Herzog’s flight to COP29 in Azerbaijan, officials confirm

ANKARA – Turkey effectively blocked Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation in the COP29 summit in Baku earlier this week by denying his plane permission to fly over Turkish airspace, official Turkish sources confirmed to Al-Monitor on Sunday.

Ahead of the COP29 summit, which took place in Baku from 12-13 In November, Israeli officials submitted a request for Herzog’s plane to fly through Turkish airspace en route to the Azerbaijani capital.

“Permission for the flyover was not given,” official Turkish sources told Al-Monitor, confirming initial reports in Azerbaijani media Qafqazinfo earlier Sunday.

Of the two main flight routes from Israel to Baku, one involves passage over Iran, while the other requires the use of Turkish airspace.

Herzog was supposed to lead the Israeli delegation at the summit, but his visit was canceled earlier this month, with the Israeli presidency citing security reasons for the cancellation, according to Israeli media. The Israeli delegation, which included the ministers of environmental protection, energy and transport, eventually traveled to Baku, although it remains unclear which route they took. No further requests for flyover rights to Turkey were submitted and charter flights between Tel Aviv and Baku continue to operate as normal.

Attempts by Azerbaijani officials to get Turkey’s approval for the flight were unsuccessful, according to Azerbaijani media.

In March 2022, Herzog became the first Israeli president to visit Turkey since 2007, amid efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Israel after more than a decade of turbulent relations, largely due to disagreements over the Palestinian issue. In August of that year, the two nations reinstated ambassadors, marking a full normalization of ties. However, this relaxation was short-lived.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has positioned himself as a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, has intensified criticism of Israel following the Hamas-Israel conflict that began on October 7. In late October, Israel announced that it was reassessing diplomatic relations with Turkey, indicating that its ambassador would not return to Ankara after leaving due to security concerns amid large-scale anti-Israel protests.

In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel in November 2023. Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, and the group’s political leaders are able to travel freely within the country. On October 28, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with top figures in Hamas’ political wing, just two days after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.