‘Embassy inauguration is sign of strengthened ties between Israel and Turkmenistan’
(Worthy News) – Eli Cohen became the first Israeli foreign minister to step foot in Turkmenistan in nearly three decades after arriving in the Central Asian country’s capital Ashgabat on Wednesday night to open an embassy there.
It will be the closest Israeli embassy to arch-enemy Iran as Ashgabat is located 15 miles from the Turkmenistan-Iran border, which spans 713 miles from the Caspian Sea to Afghanistan. Cohen’s visit and the embassy’s inauguration are intended to send a message to Iran that Israel is a present and growing influence in the region.
Turkmenistan, a Muslim-majority country, established relations with Israel in the run-up to its declaration of independence in 1991. About a decade ago, in light of good relations between the two states, Israel opened a temporary embassy there with a temporary structure, now permanent. [ Source: Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]