Azerbaijan rules out sending troops to Gaza peacekeeping force

BAKU, Azerbaijan (MNTV) — President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan will not send troops to participate in any peacekeeping operation outside its borders, including a proposed international force in Gaza.

Speaking late Monday in an interview with Azerbaijani television channels, Aliyev said Baku had engaged with the administration of US President Donald Trump to seek clarity on plans for a proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza but made clear that Azerbaijan would not take part.

“We prepared a questionnaire of more than 20 questions and provided it to the American side. No participation in peacekeeping forces is envisaged,” Aliyev said.

“I am not considering participation in hostilities outside Azerbaijan at all,” he added.

An Azerbaijani government source had said in November that Baku would not contribute troops to such a mission unless there was a complete halt to fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Diplomats involved in discussions on the proposed force said that despite serious concerns and fears of domestic backlash, many Muslim-majority countries linked to the Gaza peace process support the idea of the ISF, arguing it is necessary to protect Palestinians in the besieged territory.

“Israel has already killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza, and only an international force with a clear mandate can stop this genocide,” said one diplomat from a Muslim-majority country directly involved in the process.

Another diplomat acknowledged that participation in the force would place contributing states in a difficult position but said the alternative was worse.

“We know we would be pushed into a very difficult situation if we joined the ISF,” the diplomat said. “But the alternative is uninterrupted bloodshed in Gaza, and that’s not acceptable to us.”