YEREVAN (Realist English). In the early 1990s, Israel proposed rapprochement of Armenia at the levels that Israel and Azerbaijan have today, the Chief Rabbi of Armenia Gershon Meir Burstein said in an interview with Realist Information Agency.
“There were lots of opportunities that we proposed to integrate and attract to Armenia to improve both the economic and strategic situation. Unfortunately, since 1991 there have been no meetings, to which we tried to bring the first leadership of Armenia, headed by President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. We proposed rapprochement between Armenia and Israel at the levels that Israel has with the Azerbaijani side today.” he reminds.
The rabbi stressed that Armenia was the first country visited by envoys from Israel in the post-Soviet period.
“But then neither the President nor Yerevan Mayor Ambartsum Galstyan found time to meet with these people for some reason of their own. And these people left for Azerbaijan and signed agreements that are still working today. Although even after that, the envoys of Israel made efforts to bring Armenia and Israel closer. And not only at the level of agricultural programs, but also at the level of more serious programs.” the interlocutor of Realist Information Agency noted.
Gershon Meir Burstein hopes that wisdom will prevail:
“An understanding should come that there is experience that allows us to resist the pressure of many countries and prove the right to live on our ancestral land. I hope that over time this bridge between Armenia and Israel will work. More than 15 years ago, I wrote a long article in the Third Force newspaper about approaches to the revival of Armenia and Israel. There I said that this world stands on two legs – one in Israel, the other in Armenia, and the more stability in these countries, the more stable it will be all over the world”.
