Azerbaijan condemned Israel’s decision to recognize the Armenian Genocide on Monday, calling the move a matter of “serious concern” and demanding that the Israeli government reconsider, even as Baku remains one of the largest buyers of the Israeli weapons it used to seize Armenian Artsakh two years ago.
In a statement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry referred to the decision as concerning the “so-called ‘Armenian genocide'” and called “the distortion of the historical facts surrounding the events of 1915” unacceptable, accusing Israel of reducing what it described as “a complex historical issue to a political decision without a sound legal or scholarly basis.” Such actions, the ministry said, “do not contribute to reconciliation or mutual understanding” but instead “deepen existing divisions and undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region.” Baku called on Israel to reverse course, saying it “remains firmly committed to upholding historical truth, respecting the principles of international law, and promoting lasting peace and stability in the region.”
The objection came despite the deep interdependence between the two states. Azerbaijani crude accounted for close to half of Israel’s oil imports last year, its single largest source, while Israel has armed Azerbaijan with advanced military technology that proved decisive in the wars against Armenians. The oil reaches Israel through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline via Turkey, and while ship-tracking analysts attribute the shipments to Azerbaijan, Baku publicly maintains that it does not sell directly to Israel and that traders determine the final destination.
On the military side, by multiple arms-research estimates, Israeli weapons accounted for roughly 70 percent of Azerbaijan’s major arms imports in the years surrounding the 2020 war and the September 2023 offensive, and Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions and drones were widely credited with giving Baku its battlefield advantage. The September 2023 assault ethnically cleansed occupied Artsakh, forcing more than 100,000 Armenians to flee their homeland in a matter of days.
Baku’s condemnation echoed its closest ally, Turkey, which rejected the recognition a day earlier as a “political” maneuver to divert attention from Gaza. Neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey, the Ottoman Empire’s successor state, recognizes the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as genocide. The Israeli resolution explicitly condemned that denial as an organized campaign that includes the manipulative rewriting of history books.
Israel’s government voted unanimously on Sunday to formally recognize the genocide, following the resolution brought by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar late last week. The measure now heads to the Knesset for a vote, though its path is uncertain, as the parliament is expected to begin its pre-election recess on July 16, with new elections scheduled for the autumn.
Reaction in Armenia
While Turkey and Azerbaijan condemned the recognition, Armenia’s own government has so far declined to comment. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has remained silent since the decision was announced, and officials from the ruling Civil Contract party have not responded to questions about it.
Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan declined to comment, saying she had “no desire” to provide a statement, while Civil Contract MPs Arusyak Julhakyan and Emma Palyan, both members of the parliamentary Armenia-Israel friendship group, also declined, citing different reasons.
Opposition figures, by contrast, welcomed the move. Arthur Khachatryan, an MP from the opposition Armenia Alliance, called it “a positive development” and said he expected the Knesset to vote in favor of the resolution, adding that “the whole world should recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide.”
Khachatryan noted that recognition is itself a political matter, arguing that every country that recognizes the genocide does so in light of its own political considerations. Asked about Israel’s possible motives amid its tensions with Turkey, he said the motivation mattered less than the fact that the move serves Armenia’s interests.
“Dozens of countries have already recognized the Armenian genocide. Why did France recognize it, Russia, Uruguay? It is important that countries continue this process. It is in our national interest that the world recognizes the Armenian genocide. If Israel joins this process, yes, it is welcome,” he said.
