Armenia’s Foreign Ministry (MFA) has congratulated the government and people of Israel on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day, and said it is ready to expand ties with Israel, despite longstanding and deeply sensitive tensions between the two sides.
In a message shared on X, the MFA said: “We extend our congratulations to the Government, and people of Israel on Yom Ha’atzmaut. Armenia stands ready to expand Armenia-Israel ties and explore new opportunities for cooperation.”
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Israel were established on April 4, 1992. In December 2021, Arman Hakobyan was appointed Armenia’s ambassador to Israel, with residence in Tel Aviv.
Since the establishment of ties, relations have generally remained cautious and at times strained. A major source of tension has been Israel’s extensive military cooperation with Azerbaijan, including large-scale arms sales worth billions of dollars. For Yerevan, these deals are especially sensitive given Azerbaijan’s role in the wars against Armenians, including the 2020 war and the 2023 ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Artsakh’s entire indigenous Armenian population.
For many Armenians, this remains the central issue. Israel has been one of Azerbaijan’s key arms suppliers for years, providing advanced weaponry to a regime that has repeatedly used force against Armenians. From an Armenian perspective, Israel’s deep defense partnership with Baku is not an abstract geopolitical issue, but one tied directly to Armenian death, displacement, and national trauma.
Israel’s partnership with Baku is driven by broader strategic considerations, including securing access to Azerbaijani energy resources and strengthening its position against Iran in the region. But from the Armenian perspective, those interests have often come at the direct expense of Armenian security, Armenian lives, and regional justice.
Another longstanding point of tension has been Israel’s position on the Armenian Genocide. Israel has traditionally refrained from formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide at the state level, in part due to concerns over its relations with Turkey, which rejects the characterization of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. That remains a deeply important issue for Armenians worldwide, not only as a matter of historical truth, but as a test of moral clarity.
At the same time, the centuries-old Armenian presence in Jerusalem remains an important cultural and historical link between the two peoples. The Armenian Quarter, one of the four quarters of the Old City, has been home to an Armenian community since at least the 4th century. Centered around the St. James Cathedral and the Armenian Patriarchate, the quarter continues to serve as a religious and cultural hub, reflecting a long-standing Armenian heritage in the region.
In recent years, however, tensions have emerged around a controversial land deal involving a section of the Armenian Quarter known as the Cows’ Garden. The dispute centers on a lease agreement signed by the Armenian Patriarchate with a private developer, which members of the local Armenian community have strongly opposed.
The issue has also drawn broader political attention, adding another layer of sensitivity to relations between Armenia and Israel, as concerns over the preservation of Armenian heritage in Jerusalem have resonated far beyond the local community and across the Armenian world.
