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Arastun Orujlu, the chairman of East-West Research Center, in his interview to Azerbaijani news outlet Minval.az, commented on Israel’s calls to its citizens to avoid trips to Baku during the First European Games, as during Eurovision Song Contest, for the threat of terrorism.

Orujlu said that such cautious approach is natural, as the citizens of Israel frequently suffer terrorist attacks, threats, and not only in Israel, but also beyond its borders.

“However, what happens is that such calls have grown in number over the recent years. This can also be conditioned by the fact that Azerbaijan-Israel relations are not on the same level as they used to be. Pullback is observed in the bilateral relations, especially in military cooperation and security sector,” the expert highlighted.

However, the expert stressed that Azerbaijan needs to intensify its relations with that country given that Iran is getting more active in its foreign policy which can eventually harm Azerbaijan’s security and independence.

In August 2013 Counter Terrorism Bureau in the Prime Minister’s Office of Israel called on its citizens not to visit a number of countries, including Azerbaijan, because of the threat of act of terrorism. Besides, as Azerbaijani news outlet Haqqin.az has reported, on September 19, 2011 Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau warned its compatriots against visits to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Later on, the Operations Division of the General Staff of IDF (Defense Army of Israel) published an order banning officers and warrant officers of IDF from travelling to 36 countries and regions, including Azerbaijan.

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