Azerbaijan says pressure halted Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition push
Baku says it warned Jerusalem the move would damage ties with Turkey, while Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s office insists Israel’s government recognition remains unchanged
Azerbaijan's foreign policy adviser, Hikmet Hajiyev, stated that Israel halted its efforts to recognize the Armenian genocide due to pressure from Baku. The official claimed that Turkey warned Israel that advancing the issue would damage its close ties with Turkey, which is considered a "red line" for Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev reportedly ordered a vigorous diplomatic campaign following the issue's inclusion in Israeli discussions.
Hajiyev alleged that the Israeli government acknowledged Azerbaijan's concerns and that further progress on the matter was blocked. The Azerbaijani official emphasized the strong alliance between Baku and Ankara, noting that wherever Turkey is absent, Azerbaijan fills the void, and vice versa. The Armenian genocide has been a contentious issue for decades, with Armenia and historians describing the 1915 mass killings and deportations as genocide, while Turkey disputes this classification.
Israel had initially presented the recognition proposal in the Knesset, but it was not put to a vote. Israel has not commented on Hajiyev's claims, with the Foreign Minister's office reiterating that the Armenian genocide has been unanimously recognized by the Israeli government. Tensions between Israel and Azerbaijan have escalated recently, after Azerbaijani officials expressed dissatisfaction with the Israeli decision, citing a lack of reciprocity from Jerusalem following Azerbaijan's support during the ongoing war.
Written by urgent.news from Ynetnews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
