The Israeli cabinet recently made a unanimous decision to recognise the Armenian genocide, 111 years after the incident took place and a couple of weeks after the prime minister of Armenia won the country’s general election on the grounds that the country’s future belongs to peace, not to the reexamination of the past. Speaking about the decision, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, emphasised the importance of morality in this case, saying, “It is never too late to do the right thing.” In its essence, this is an impeccable phrase. The reason why this decision is interesting – besides its important significance for the world as the thirty-fifth official recognition- is the particular time when this statement was made, the particular message that it should convey to someone, and the particular country of the South Caucasus.

For decades, Israel refrained from formally recognising the Armenian genocide while maintaining diplomatic and commercial relations with Türkiye and Azerbaijan. The logic was indeed straightforward, of course. Ankara and Baku were too valuable allies to anger them over an issue from more than a hundred years ago. Türkiye was a regional partner, some would say, at least for a decent amount of period, and Azerbaijan provided roughly 40% of Israel's oil imports and offered strategic depth in the South Caucasus. The genocide question was treated as a diplomatic grenade best left unfused. There has been no change in the historical account, which has remained the same, but rather in the bilateral atmosphere. However, Israeli-Turkish relations have worsened dramatically since the events in Gaza in October 2023, and Turkish leader Erdoğan’s constant description of the Israeli actions in Gaza........

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