The issue of recognizing the 1915 events as the "Armenian genocide" in Israel caused serious concern in Azerbaijan, as the interests of brotherly Turkey have always been a priority for Azerbaijan and the issue is a "red line," Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, said in an interview with Haber Global.

Axar.az reports that Hajiyev said Azerbaijan launched intensive diplomatic efforts on President Ilham Aliyev's instructions as soon as the issue emerged.

"We conveyed our messages to the Israeli side, making it clear that such a decision would, first of all, be unfair, would not reflect historical reality, and that we did not consider its adoption appropriate. The positive aspect is that the Israeli side took Azerbaijan's messages seriously. We believe this prevented the initiative from moving forward. In our view, it would have been a completely unfair step that in no way reflected historical reality," Hajiyev said.

He added that Azerbaijan and Turkiye always stand by each other.

"Where Turkiye is absent, Azerbaijan is present, and where Azerbaijan is absent, Turkiye is present. We respond firmly to any action against the interests of our countries, and we will continue to do so," Hajiyev said.

It should be noted that the Israeli government has halted the process of advancing an initiative to recognize the 1915 events as the "Armenian genocide." Following pressure from Azerbaijan, the issue of recognizing the "Armenian genocide" was removed from the agenda of the Knesset.