Michael Doran: “During war, Israel rejected US request not to sell weapons to Azerbaijan”

During the Second Karabakh War, the United States asked Israel to suspend arms shipments to Azerbaijan but got a rejection, American analyst Michael Doran writes in his article published in the English-language quarterly publication of the ADA University Baku Dialogues.

“At earlier stages of the war, Washington was not entirely absent but took positions that left its friends scratching their heads. Which brings me to my second personal anecdote. A senior official in the Israeli government, who had direct knowledge of the events in question, told me that, during the fighting, a very senior White House official called to request that the Israelis put the brakes on the resupply of the Azerbaijani military. Eager to broker a ceasefire, that American official apparently calculated that, because the Azerbaijanis held the upper hand on the battlefield, they were reluctant to accept a ceasefire. If, however, Israel would slow or stop the flow of weapons shipments, then Baku’s calculus might change. The Israeli official politely refused the request, explaining to the American that allies don’t abandon allies in the middle of a war. The White House official did not push the issue again,” Doran said.

Michael Doran is Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. He is a former Senior Director in the US National Security Council, Senior Advisor in the US State Department, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States.

Doran is known for his support of Israel, as well as his support for cooperation between the United States, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. He supported Azerbaijan's position in the Karabakh conflict, describing it as an important ally of Washington against Iran.