Turkish officials confirmed that Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s request to use its airspace was denied. Herzog was planning to attend COP29 climate summit in the Azerbaijani capital Baku through Turkish airspace. On Saturday, Herzog canceled his participation in the conference, citing “security concerns,” according to a statement from his office.
Relations between Türkiye and Israel have been deteriorating since the start of Israel’s devastating offensive against Gaza since October 2023. The ongoing onslaught has so far killed nearly 43,800 people, mostly women and children, and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.
Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was also among participants of the same summit, affirmed that they severed all ties with Israel. The last link between Türkiye and Tel Aviv were trade relations which were suspended in May. Amid diplomatic efforts to end the Palestine-Israel conflict, Ankara is now focused on the implementation of an arms embargo on Israel and seeks to rally the international community through an initiative at the United Nations on this issue.