Armenia needs embassy in Israel 'more than Israel does' in Armenia, says analyst

The opening of an Armenian embassy in Israel appears to be a more urgent issue than the contrary scenario, i.e. – the opening of an Israeli embassy in the Republic of Armenia, according to Suren Sargsyan, a Yerevan-based political analyst.

Speaking to Tert.am, he shared his comments upon Deputy Foreign Minister Grigor Hovhannisyan’s remark, voiced in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.

''Visits and mutual visits have been very frequent in point of fact. As early as one year ago, the former foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, was in Israel where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a range of issues, including the expediency of having a resident ambassador in Israel,'' he said, noting that the opening of an Israeli embassy in Armenia was high on the agenda back at the time.

Sargsyan says he does not see a pressing demand for Israel to have a diplomatic representation in Yerevan at the moment. ''So why does Armenia need a resident ambassador in Israel? First, because Israel is a friend state with a big Armenian community; [it has] one of the biggest, most powerful and most influential church-owned lands. Also, one of the most sacred sites of the Armenian Apostolic Church is in Israel.

''We have there a patriarch whose relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church are very tense indeed. We are practically dealing with a state which sells weapons to our enemy [Azerbaijan]. All those circumstances make clear that Armenia does need an Embassy in Israel more than vice a versa,'' he said, noting that the country would unhesitatingly move to opening its own embassy in Yerevan if it ever faced the urgency.

Sargsyan stressed the importance of considering the issue also in the context of the US-Armenia relations, especially under President Donald Trump’s Republican administration. ''Trump, in my deepest conviction, is the most pro-Israeli president of the United States; that’s what a study into his political track record would essentially reveal. The United States maintain friendly relations with countries which do so also with their friends,” he said, noting that Washington repeatedly gives the Armenian authorities hints over the absence of friendly relations with their allies.