Azerbaijan condemns Israel’s recognition of the Armenian genocide, calling it a “distortion of the historical facts.”
Israel formally recognized the 1915 Armenian genocide for the first time yesterday amid the collapse in its ties with Turkey.
Turkey denies that the World War I-era atrocities constitute a genocide. Azerbaijan, which has close relations with Israel and has fought multiple rounds of conflict with neighboring Armenia, takes the same position.
“The decision by the Israeli government concerning the so-called ‘Armenian genocide’ is a matter of serious concern,” Baku’s Foreign Ministry says in a statement. “The distortion of the historical facts surrounding the events of 1915, and the reduction of a complex historical issue to a political decision without a sound legal or scholarly basis, are unacceptable.”
The statement adds, “Such actions do not contribute to reconciliation or mutual understanding. Instead, they deepen existing divisions and undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region. We call on the Israeli government to reconsider this decision.”
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