Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev has told how they convinced Israel in Baku not to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“On many issues, we [i.e. Azerbaijan] consult with Ankara, but in this case we took the step without prior discussion with Turkey. This is what the principle of ‘one nation, two states’ requires. We told Israel: ‘What you are doing is wrong. If you think that you can harm Turkey with this move, you are mistaken,’” Hajiyev noted.

He noted that the Azerbaijani side warned Israel that such a decision would not only not achieve the intended goal, but would also harm Israel’s relations with Turkey, and could also negatively affect relations with Azerbaijan and the perception of Israel among Azerbaijani society.

"We explained that this would not bring any benefit to Israel, and advised [them] to abandon this idea. They accepted that it was a wrong decision, and understood the importance of backing down from it as soon as possible," the Azerbaijani presidential aide added.

According to him, Azerbaijan does not expect gratitude for these actions.