Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan and newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to Armenia Joel Lion met today in Yerevan and exchanged views on establishing lasting stability in the region, this according to a statement released by Simonyan’s office.

Simonyan congratulated Lion on his appointment and expressed hope that the new ambassador will facilitate greater relations between the two countries.

Both sides said the two peoples share historical and cultural ties and have witnessed similar destinies, important conditions for creating a favorable atmosphere of cooperation.

Simonyan said such conditions will contribute to the further development of inter-parliamentary relations between Israel and Armenia.

In October 2020, Armenia recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan used Israeli-made weapons during the 2020 Karabakh war and the 2016 Four-Day War.

In April of this year, Armenia sent its ambassador back to Israel in an apparent attempt to mend bilateral relations.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict and armaments think-tank, Israel provided Azerbaijan with some $825 million in weapons between 2006 and 2019.

The residence of the Israeli Ambassador to Armenia is in Jerusalem, in a building housing the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

(To read more on Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan see the December 2021 Hetq article: Delayed Justice: Israeli Court Charges Domestic Arms Manufacturer of Violating Export Law by Arms Selling to Azerbaijan)