Political Scientist: Baku`s current demarche on Armenian Genocide  rather an obligatory gesture of solidarity with Ankara

ArmInfo.Baku's current demarche on the Israeli Cabinet's recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire is rather an obligatory gesture of  solidarity with Ankara, according to Israeli political scientist Alexander Tsinker.

He noted that after nearly a day of silence, Baku has finally  responded to the Israeli government's decision to recognize the  Armenian Genocide. The political scientist recalled that the  Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called on Jerusalem to reconsider this  decision, stating that it "does not promote reconciliation,"  "exacerbates existing contradictions," and "impedes the achievement  of sustainable peace." 

"The statement itself wasn't unexpected. Azerbaijan's strategic  alliance with Turkey left Baku virtually no room for a different  official position. What's far more interesting is that the reaction  only came a day later.  According to Israeli sources, even before the  government meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar held  consultations with the Azerbaijani side. If this is indeed the case,  then Israel warned its ally in advance of the upcoming decision and  understood Baku's official reaction," Tsinker noted.

At the same time, the political scientist believes that Turkey itself  long ago destroyed the previous status quo in relations with Israel.  Tsinker added that after October 7, Ankara effectively adopted the  position of a political adversary, and its leadership repeatedly  resorted to direct threats against the Jewish state. 

"Therefore, Turkey's opinion was unlikely to be a factor influencing  the Israeli government's decision.  Much more important is that  Israel made this decision fully aware that its strategic partner,  Azerbaijan, would follow Ankara's criticism. Jerusalem has  demonstrated that strategic relations with Azerbaijan will not be a  reason to abandon a decision it considers historically and morally  correct.

Baku's current demarche is, rather, an obligatory gesture of  solidarity with Ankara. The true indicator of the strength of  Jerusalem-Baku relations will be seen not in statements from the  Foreign Ministry, but in the volume of future military contracts and  the schedule of tanker deliveries from Ceyhan to Haifa," Zinker  concluded.

As previously reported, on June 28, the Israeli government  unanimously recognized the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman  Empire during World War I as Genocide. The initiative was put forward  by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. The document will now be  sent to the Knesset for approval.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry  sharply criticized this Israeli initiative. On June 29, the  Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also issued a statement calling on  Israel to reconsider its position.