Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog (pictured) arrived today for a state visit to Azerbaijan, DPA reported.

This is the first visit by a leader of the Jewish state to the former Soviet republic.

During his two-day visit to the capital Baku, Herzog plans to hold talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to deepen bilateral strategic relations.

The Israeli president said that Azerbaijan is a "friendly, close, important country, a key country" for Israel.

Israeli news site Wynet added that thousands of Azerbaijani security forces were stationed in Baku because of the visit.

Herzog said it should not be forgotten that Azerbaijan is Iran's neighbor. "Iran is an unstable factor in the region that is constantly taking action against the State of Israel and against the developing alliance for peace and security in the region, and I will certainly discuss that," he said.

Israel accuses Iran of using civilian ships as floating terror bases

In March, Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel has had an embassy in Baku since 1993.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jayhoun Bayramov attended the opening of the embassy in Israel. A month later, his Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, visited Baku.