Author: Harut Sassounian

When I first heard that Israel’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan, George Deek, is an Armenian, I thought that it can’t be true. However, I was astonished to find out that it was correct. As Mark Twain said: “Truth is stranger than fiction!”

Long before he became Israel’s Ambassador to Baku, Deek tweeted: “My father’s grandmother’s name was Antaraan Hambarian, an Armenian. She is a survivor of the Armenian tragedy of… . 8:43 AM. Apr 12, 2015.”

The Facebook link Deek included in his tweet was significant because it referred to an April 12, 2015 article titled: “Turkey angry at pope after ‘genocide’ remarks.” So Deek was aware that there was an Armenian Genocide, his father’s grandmother was a survivor of that Genocide, and her name was Antaraan Hamparian, even though he misspelled her first name which was most probably Antaram.

After Deek became Israel’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan in 2019, several Armenians angrily criticized him for referring to the Armenian Genocide as a ‘tragedy’ in his 2015 tweet. Here are some of the disparaging replies: “Will you survive betrayal of your ancestors?” “She would be proud of you… serving two countries actively denying the very thing that robbed her of her own family,” “Probably she would be greatly ashamed of you,” “Your poor grandmother is turning in her grave, sorry you condone ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and genocide,” “I can’t believe you have Armenian roots! SHAME ON YOU 1,500,000 times then, for SUPPORTING TERRORISTS Azerbaijan and Turkey! IT’S A SHAME FOR US THAT YOU HAVE ARMENIAN BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS!” and “Your great grandmother will spit on your face if she would hear what you say!”

On Sept. 30, 2021, the ANCA (Armenian National Committee of America) posted on its Facebook page: “Most shameful diplomatic appointment in the history of diplomacy. Genocide survivor state Israel sending George Deek (a self-described ethnic Armenian descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors) as its ambassador to Azerbaijan, a country openly working to complete this crime.”

In July 2021, Deek angered Armenians again by tweeting: “Together with the diplomatic corps in Azerbaijan, I had the historic privilege of being the first Israeli Ambassador to visit the remarkable city of Shusha,” a noteworthy Armenian town captured by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war.

In an interview with The Times of Israel on January 13, 2023, Amb. Deek described himself as ‘an Arab and an Israeli.’ His father was an Orthodox Christian of mixed Armenian and Palestinian roots. Here is an excerpt from that interview:

The Times of Israel: “When you meet Azeris and they discover you’re an Arab Christian, what kind of reactions do you get?”

Amb. Deek: “Naturally, it’s surprising and confusing for most Azeris. The sense of surprise is great for helping me explain about the diversity of Israeli society. But frankly, at this point, I’ve stopped correcting them because it gets tiring. It’s still funny when on December 24, they still wish me a Happy Hanukkah rather than Merry Christmas.”

The Times of Israel: “As an Israeli Christian, what’s your perspective on the Armenian community — which consists mainly of fellow Israeli Christians — and the challenges they face in Israel, both in connection with the Jerusalem-Baku relationship and with other non-related issues?”

Amb. Deek: “I have deep sympathy for the Armenian community in Israel, and specifically in Jaffa, where I grew up. We share the same faith and many cultural traditions. Many of my friends from school and from youth movements are Armenian. I had teachers who influenced me immensely who are Armenian, and I consider them as close friends.”

On January 5, 2023, the Azeri Caliber.az website quoted Amb. Deek as declaring: “Israel is proposing its assistance to Azerbaijan in the setting up of ‘smart cities’ in Armenian districts occupied by Azerbaijan.”

On January 12, 2023, Amb. Deek was interviewed by Caliber.az on video which was titled, “Beyond the visible: Excavating the depths of Israeli-Azerbaijani ties with Ambassador George Deek.”

In that interview, Amb. Deek made the following alarming statement: “The most important event is when Azerbaijan entered the second Karabakh war and we [Israel] have been here standing shoulder to shoulder with our partner and friend Azerbaijan. Our strategic cooperation continued and intensified during that period but also on the humanitarian field. The fact that I took the risk to go to Ganja in the middle of the attacks on the city and to talk to the local community, to meet them, to provide humanitarian support with equipment like basic things from blankets and heaters and so on to people who lost their homes and everything they could. And I think that created also the connection in the hearts, not just in the minds, so I think the second Karabakh war showed Azerbaijan what we mean when we say friend, what we mean when we say partner. For us these are not empty words of diplomats…. These are things that come from the heart and they actually have a strong meaning for us…. Israel’s position has been clear about the Karabakh issue for a long time. Israel supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. It has done so in words and in deeds before the second Karabakh war and after the second Karabakh war.”

He also wrongly added that “practically, the Arab-Israeli conflict is basically over.” Amb. Deek not only does not have respect for his Armenian heritage, he also has no respect for his Palestinian heritage. He must have sold his soul to the devil for his job.

The most astounding aspect of Amb. Deek’s appointment is that Israel’s Foreign Ministry officials sent an envoy with an Armenian background to Azerbaijan! Despite Amb. Deek’s effusive words about Azerbaijan, I doubt if Pres. Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan fully trust him. In Azerbaijan, they have nothing but hatred and contempt for any Armenian, even those who are partly Armenian.

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper published on March 5, an astounding article titled: “92 Flights from Israeli Base Reveal Arms Exports to Azerbaijan.”

The article reported that on March 2, Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines’ cargo plane landed in Israel’s Ovda military airport, and two hours later returned to Baku via Turkey and the Georgian Republic. In the last seven years, this is the 92^nd cargo flight from Baku to Ovda, the only airfield in Israel that is allowed to export explosives. These military shipments increased substantially during Azerbaijan’s attacks on Armenia/Artsakh in 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Pres. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has described Israel’s covert relations with Azerbaijan as being like an iceberg, nine-tenths of it is below the surface.

Israel supplies almost 70% of Azerbaijan’s weapons and in return receives about half of its imported oil. Haaretz quoted foreign media sources disclosing that: “Azerbaijan has allowed the Mossad [Israel’s intelligence agency] to set up a forward branch [in Azerbaijan] to monitor what is happening in Iran, Azerbaijan’s neighbor to the south, and has even prepared an airfield intended to aid Israel in case it decides to attack Iranian nuclear sites. Reports from two years ago stated that the Mossad agents who stole the Iranian nuclear archive smuggled it to Israel via Azerbaijan. According to official reports from Azerbaijan, over the years Israel has sold it the most advanced weapons systems, including ballistic missiles, air defense and electronic warfare systems, kamikaze drones and more.”

Haaretz revealed that Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines “operates three weekly flights between Baku and [Israel’s] Ben-Gurion International Airport with Boeing 747 cargo freighters.” In addition, some Eastern European countries circumvent the ban on the sale of weapons to Azerbaijan by shipping them via Israel.

The restriction of the sale of weapons by Europe and the United States to Armenia and Azerbaijan created an opportunity for Israel to earn billions of dollars in weapons’ sales to Azerbaijan.

Haaretz reported that “Israel has exported a very wide range of weapons to the country [Azerbaijan] — starting with Tavor assault rifles all the way to the most sophisticated systems such as radar, air defense, antitank missiles, ballistic missiles, ships and a wide range of drones, both for intelligence and attack purposes. Israeli companies have also supplied advanced spy tech, such as communications monitoring systems from Verint and the Pegasus spyware from the NSO Group — tools that were used against journalists, the LGBT community and human rights activists in Azerbaijan, too.”

The Stockholm International Peace Institute wrote: “Israel’s defense exports to Azerbaijan began in 2005 with the sale of the Lynx multiple launch rocket systems by Israel Military Industries (IMI Systems), which has a range of 150 kilometers (92 miles). IMI, which was acquired by Elbit Systems in 2018, also supplied LAR-160 light artillery rockets with a range of 45 kilometers, which, according to a report from Human Rights Watch, were used by Azerbaijan to fire banned cluster munitions at residential areas in Nagorno-Karabakh,” even though Israel and 123 other countries have banned the use of cluster bombs.

Haaretz reported that “In 2007, Azerbaijan signed a contract to buy four intelligence-gathering drones from Aeronautics Defense Systems. It was the first deal of many. In 2008 it purchased 10 Hermes 450 drones from Elbit Systems and 100 Spike antitank missiles produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and in 2010 it bought another 10 intelligence-gathering drones. Soltam Systems, owned by Elbit, sold it ATMOS self-propelled guns and 120-millimeter Cardom mortars, and in 2017 Azerbaijan’s arsenal was supplemented with the more advanced Hanit mortars. According to the telegram leaked in Wikileaks, a sale of advanced communications equipment from Tadiran was also signed in 2008.”

According to Haaretz, “Israel and Azerbaijan took their relationship up a level in 2011 with a huge $1.6 billion deal that included a battery of Barak missiles for intercepting aircraft and missiles, as well as Searcher and Heron drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It was reported that near the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, a Barak battery shot down an Iskander ballistic missile launched by Armenia. Aeronautics Defense Systems also began cooperating with the local arms industry in Azerbaijan, where some of the 100 Orbiter kamikaze (loitering munitions) drones were produced — drones that Azerbaijan’s defense minister called ‘a nightmare for the Armenian army.’”

In 2021, “an indictment was filed against [Israel’s] Aeronautics Defense Systems for violating the law regulating defense exports in its dealing with one of its most prominent clients. A court-imposed gag order prevents the publication of further details. A project to modernize the Azerbaijani army’s tanks began in the early 2010s. Elbit Systems upgraded and equipped the old Soviet T-72 models with new protective gear to enhance the tanks’ and their crews’ survivability, as well as fast and precise target acquisition and fire control systems. The upgraded tanks, known as Aslan (Lion), starred in the 2013 military parade. Azerbaijan’s navy was reinforced in 2013 with six patrol ships based on the Israel Navy’s Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boats, produced by Israel Shipyards and carrying the naval version of the Spike missiles, along with six Shaldag MK V patrol boats with Rafael’s Typhoon gun mounts and Spike missile systems. Azerbaijan’s navy also bought 100 Lahat antitank guided missiles.”

In 2014, “Azerbaijan ordered the first 100 Harop kamikaze drones from IAI, which were a critical tool in later rounds of fighting. Azerbaijan also purchased two advanced radar systems for aerial warning and defense from IAI subsidiary Elta that same year…. Two years later, Azerbaijan bought another 250 SkyStriker kamikaze drones from Elbit Systems. Many videos from the areas of fighting showed Israeli drones attacking Armenian forces…. In 2016, during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Baku, Aliyev revealed that contracts had already been signed between the two countries for the purchase of some $5 billion in ‘defensive equipment.’ In 2017, Azerbaijan purchased advanced Hermes 900 drones from Elbit Systems and LORA ballistic missiles from IAI, with a range 430 kilometers. In 2018, Aliyev inaugurated the base where the LORA missiles are deployed, at a distance of about 430 kilometers from Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. During the war in 2020, at least one LORA missile was launched, and according to reports it hit a bridge that Armenia used to supply arms and equipment to its forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. More advanced Spike missiles were sent in 2019 and 2020.”

It is appalling that the descendants of the Holocaust are supplying such massive lethal weapons to Azerbaijan to kill the descendants of the Armenian Genocide.

Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan made a huge mistake last Thursday when he succumbed to the pressure of Pres. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, dismissing State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire businessman who had made his fortune in Moscow. Last September, Vardanyan renounced his Russian citizenship and settled in Artsakh, saying he wants to be with his people at their greatest hour of need. Shortly after his move, Pres. Harutyunyan appointed him as State Minister of Artsakh.

The President of Artsakh should not have fired Vardanyan or should have at least waited for a while so it did not look like he was carrying out Aliyev’s orders so promptly. Unfortunately, Vardanyan was dismissed right after the International Court of Justice increased the pressure on Azerbaijan by ruling against it.

Shamefully, Gurgen Arsenyan, a Member of Parliament from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party, made the following treacherous statement in Parliament in February: “there is no need to risk three million Armenians for the sake of Artsakh.” It is never a good idea when you and your enemy are on the same side!

Recently, several Azeri journalists and even Pres. Aliyav denigrated Vardanyan by calling him “a Russian oligarch, criminal, and money launderer.”

In Oct. 2022, Aliyev personally complained to Pres. Vladimir Putin of Russia about Vardanyan. Putin told Aliyev that he knew nothing about Vardanyan’s presence and activities in Artsakh.

On Nov. 17, 2022, during a meeting with Dirk Schuebel, Special Envoy of the European Union for the Eastern Partnership, Aliyev said that he refuses to negotiate with Vardanyan, whom he called “Moscow’s emissary” in Karabakh. Aliyev continued: “We are ready to talk…with Armenians who live in Karabakh, not with those who have been sent from Moscow hiding in their pockets billions of dollars money stolen from Russian people, like the man called Vardanyan who was transferred from Moscow there with a very clear agenda.”

On February 18, 2023, during a panel discussion in Munich, Germany, with Prime Minister Pashinyan, Aliyev said that he is ready to start practical communication with representatives of the Armenian community in the Karabakh region: “But, we can do it only when Russian citizen criminal oligarch, a person who was involved in money laundering in Europe, Vardanyan, is out of our territory.” Aliyev added: Vardanyan “was exported from Russia to have the leading position in Karabakh. Maybe exported is not the right word. I would probably prefer the word smuggled.”

It is not up to Aliyev to decide who should represent Artsakh in negotiations. That’s the decision of Artsakh’s government. It would have been wiser for the President of Artsakh not to dismiss Vardanyan at all, just to show Aliyev who calls the shots in Artsakh.

I suggest that Vardanyan file lawsuits for libel in the European Court of Human Rights against all those who told lies about him, forcing the scandalous Azeri journalists and Pres. Aliyev himself to pay a hefty penalty and publicly apologize to Vardanyan.

Finally, it is not a good idea to succumb to pressures from your enemies which only encourage them to demand further concessions from you. The list of their demands is endless.

Here are some current and potential Azeri demands from Artsakh and Armenia:

— Azerbaijan to place its checkpoints on the Lachin Corridor;

— The future ‘Zangezur Corridor’, linking Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan, to enjoy a status similar to the Lachin Corridor;

— Seeking further concessions, even after the Lachin Corridor is opened, Azerbaijan will probably block it again;

— After the fake Azeri environmentalists demanded to inspect the mines in Artsakh, its leaders unwisely shut down the mines, thus encouraging the Azeris to demand more concessions, instead of telling them: “that’s none of your business,” which led to the next Azeri demand that Armenians stop extracting metals from Artsakh mines;

— Seeking further Armenian concessions, Azeri forces will probably occupy more territories of the Republic of Armenia.

Similarly, Turkey will seek concessions demanding that Armenia:

— Delete from its Declaration of Independence the reference to the Armenian Genocide in “Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.” If not, Turkey would threaten to shut down the border with Armenia after opening it;

— Stop campaigning for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide;

— Accept the existing borders with Turkey, giving up any future claims for the territories of Western Armenia;

— Ban the burning of the Turkish flag on April 24;

— Give up any demands for restitution from Turkey for the Genocide losses.

The leaders of Armenia and Artsakh should understand that appeasing a bully leads to more bullying, not to peace.

Regrettably, despite sacrificing Vardanyan at Aliyev’s request, expecting that Azerbaijan would then unblock the Lachin Corridor in return, the Corridor is still blocked as of Feb. 27. Even after a closed door meeting on Feb. 25 between the representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, the Corridor remains closed.

Vardanyan announced that despite his dismissal, he will continue to live in Artsakh. It is unknown what role is he able or willing to play without an official position.

Only one mystery remains. What did Pres. Harutyunyan and State Minister Vardanyan do in Moscow earlier in February when both of them traveled separately to Moscow and returned to Artsakh within a few days? Why did they go to Moscow? Who did they meet with? What did they talk about? Neither one has said a word about that visit. Knowing the answers to these questions may shed additional light on Vardanyan’s dismissal.