Armenia recognises Palestine, but why now?
Armenia became the latest country to recognise the State of Palestine, as announced in an official statement by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 21 June. The statement affirms Armenia's support for the UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of the captives. It also strongly condemned the targeting of the civilian population and infrastructure. Following this unexpected declaration, the Armenian ambassador to Israel was summoned for what the Israeli foreign ministry called a ”harsh reprimand conversation.”
Although Armenia's decision was surprising in timing, it aligns with its previously demonstrated support for the Palestinian cause, also through UN votes for ceasefire resolutions and humanitarian aid sent to Gaza. However, Armenia has never had the diplomatic opportunity to recognise the state of Palestine until now. Among the reasons hindering the process was Armenia's own decade-long unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Despite unofficially backing Nagorno-Karabakh's self-declared independence, Armenia had refrained from officially recognising it as an independent republic, similar to other internationally sensitive territorial issues, including Palestine and Kosovo. Now, with the Armenian government considering the Nagorno-Karabakh issue ”resolved”, it finds itself in a position to take bolder diplomatic actions.
At the same time, in recent years, Armenia's relationship with Israel has been strained. Despite Armenia opening an embassy in Israel in 2020, Yerevan-Tel-Aviv cooperation was significantly marked by Israel's military support of Azerbaijan in the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan wars. Between 2017 and 2020, <a href=”https://www.sipri.org/publications/2022/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2021” style=”text-decoration: underline !important;”>over 60% of Azerbaijani weaponry imports came from Israel. These weapons have also been used against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and 2023, resulting in massive displacement of the Armenian population from the region.