Turkiye confirms denial of airspace access to Israel President en route to COP29

Turkiye has confirmed reports that its government denied Israel’s President permission to enter Turkish airspace en route to Azerbaijan, amid the recent fallout in relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

Israel’s delegation to the COP29 climate conference arrived in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on 11 November, according to reports, after having travelled there on commercial flights via Georgia.

When Israeli President Isaac Herzog was scheduled to make his way to the summit , however, he announced he was cancelling his visit due to unspecified “security considerations”.

Following that announcement, Israeli news outlet, Ynet, then reported that the trip was cancelled because Turkiye had refused Israeli President Herzog’s plane access to its airspace, with an unnamed Azerbaijani official reportedly saying that Tel Aviv and Ankara had been engaging in “intensive negotiations through diplomatic channels that lasted for several days but did not yield results”.

According to the latest media reports, Turkish officials have now also confirmed the government’s denial of an official Israeli request for Herzog’s aircraft to fly through Turkish airspace.

The rejection of Israel’s request comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week the severing of all ties to Israel’s government, military and trade sectors, stating that Ankara’s ruling coalition government “is resolute in its decision to cut ties with Israel, and we will maintain this stance in the future as well.”

READ: US warns Turkiye against hosting Hamas leaders