By Yousef Bardouka
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled an upcoming visit to Baku, with his office citing “developments” on Israel’s border and other reports suggesting that Turkey refused to allow him through its airspace.
The Israeli prime minister was scheduled to go on an official visit to Baku between May 7-11.
According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu’s office cited “developments in the Gaza Strip and Syria” and a “tight political and security schedule” as reasons behind the delay, adding that the visit would be rescheduled at a “later date.”
However, the Times of Israel has also cited Israeli news outlet Walla as saying that the Israeli prime minister had postponed his trip because Turkey “would not allow Netanyahu’s plane to fly through its airspace” and that “alternative routes” through Greece and Bulgaria would have “doubled the length of the trip.”
Turkish daily Milliyet cited the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli as saying on May 4 that reports of Turkey barring Netanyahu’s plane from flying over its airspace were not true.
