Yisrael Beiteinu won’t allow Armenian Genocide recognition by Knesset, party says

PanARMENIAN.Net - Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) faction will bring into play all its political resources in order to prevent the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Knesset.

Benefiting from President Shimon Peres's support, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his team-mates are confident that the accentuation of this issue jeopardizes the strategic partnership with Azerbaijan. “There is no chance that the Knesset would recognize the Armenian Genocide. It is impossible. We cannot afford ourselves to deface relations with our main strategic partner in the Muslim world – Azerbaijan - for some vexed historical questions concerning the events that took place hundred years ago,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon said when commenting on the May 18 vote to transfer discussion of the Armenian Genocide issue to the Knesset's Education, Culture and Sports Committee, IzRus portal reported.

Traditionally, deputies and ministers from Yisrael Beiteinu are the most strong supporters of the partnership with Azerbaijan. They also constantly oppose the recognition of Armenian Genocide. In this connection, the leader of the party and of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu parliamentary group Robert Ilatov and the future ambassador in Minsk Yosef Shagal are standing out. Since 2008, when the Knesset voted for the consideration of the Armenian issue for the first time in one of the parliamentary commissions, Yisrael Beiteinu torpedoed making further decisions on the problem. “And this time we will use all political recourses to exclude deterioration of relations with Azerbaijan. We have enough tools for it. We managed to put the relations with Russia and Ukraine on the principally new level, achieving visa regime cancellation, thus we’ll be able to maintain relations with Israel’s major economic partner among the Muslim countries,” one of Yisrael Beiteinu’s parliamentarians stated.