AZE.US
Claims that Azerbaijan persuaded Israel to halt its recognition of the Armenian genocide are not supported by any official announcement from the Israeli government or parliament.
Arzu Naghiyev, chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament’s Defense, Security and Anti-Corruption Committee, described the alleged suspension of the Israeli initiative as another success for Baku’s “flexible, calm and results-oriented diplomacy.”
Speaking to Ölkə.az, the lawmaker said the process had been stopped without a public confrontation, allowing Azerbaijan to defend Turkey’s interests while preserving its strategic relationship with Israel.
“The initiative was frozen and was not advanced,” Naghiyev said.
Available evidence, however, does not confirm that assessment.
On June 28, Israel’s Cabinet unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s proposal to recognize the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide. The Israeli government has not announced that the decision was withdrawn, canceled or frozen.
The Knesset’s own official website subsequently reported that the Israeli government had decided to recognize the genocide of the Armenian people. Saar said the government-level decision constituted formal recognition by Israel.
A separate parliamentary vote is still required to complete the process in the Knesset. No date for that vote was immediately announced, according to The Associated Press.
The absence of an immediate vote cannot by itself be treated as evidence that the initiative was stopped because of diplomatic pressure from Azerbaijan.
Baku strongly criticized the Israeli move and called on the government to reconsider it. Azerbaijan views international recognition of the Armenian genocide as an attack not only on Turkey but also on the strategic alliance between Baku and Ankara.
Naghiyev argued that Azerbaijani diplomacy prevented the issue from escalating into a public dispute with Israel.
According to him, Baku managed to protect its national interests, demonstrate solidarity with Turkey and avoid damaging Azerbaijani-Israeli relations.
He also presented the alleged outcome as a response to critics who accuse Azerbaijan of following an excessively pro-Israel foreign policy.
Yet no Israeli official has publicly credited Azerbaijan with changing the decision. Nor has the Israeli government or the Knesset announced that further consideration of the proposal has been suspended.
The available facts show that the Cabinet decision remains in place while the parliamentary stage has not been completed.
Turkey rejects the genocide designation, arguing that Armenians and Muslims died amid civil conflict and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Azerbaijan supports Ankara’s position. The killings are recognized as genocide by many governments and are widely described as such by historians.
For now, Naghiyev’s description of the episode as a diplomatic victory for Baku remains a political claim rather than a verified result.
Azerbaijan may have used diplomatic channels to express its objections, but there is no public evidence that Israel reversed or froze its decision as a result.
AZE.US