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On September 24, the first session of the Public Forum on Armenian-Israeli cooperation was held in Yerevan. On this occasion, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Israel, Head of Knesset Armenia-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, Tali Ploskov arrived in Armenia.

It should be noted that some of Tali Ploskov’s comments on the Armenian Genocide gave rise to various interpretations. In order to clarify the situation, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Israel made a special statement at the end of the forum saying that she acknowledges the fact that “the Genocide of Armenians did happen and she’ll always be with the Armenian people with her heart and soul.”
“I've always been for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and I’ll do my best for the lobbying of this issue in the Parliament of Israel,” Tali Ploskov noted.

Below you can read the full exclusive interview of Tali Ploskov concerning various issues with Panorama.am reporter Karen Ghazaryan.

− As a representative of the Jewish nation that survived the Holocaust, do you consider subordinating historical justice to political conjuncture right?
− If you ask my personal opinion, it is certainly wrong. It seems to me that we must first of all speak about human qualities, about what’s happening in the history of our countries, then only about the rest. However, unfortunately, this is only my personal opinion. Today I am only a member of the Parliament, not the Government. I’ve expressed my opinion directly and openly, so that no issues arise.
Regarding the Government's position, [I think] we still have work to do. That is why we raise these issues on a parliamentary level. I have told you [during the session] regarding the Committee on Education, Culture and Sports and its decision, that it is also a very important step. In the future, we will certainly raise these issues again during Parliament sessions, with the participation of our ministers, who need to know about everything, and naturally about what happened during this meeting, and during this visit in general, and how important it all is for the Armenian people. It's been my duty to convey all this and tell about it to decision-makers so they understand the inhumanity of it.

− Do you think Turkey's influence on the Government of Israel is so strong?
− I repeat, I am not a member of the Government, and therefore I cannot voice such opinions. I think it is. If the State of Israel hasn’t yet officially recognized the genocide, perhaps it isn’t little.

− Your views on this issue are clear. Let's talk about the Armenian-Israeli relations. What do you think Armenia could offer Israel and vice versa?
− We have witnessed many issues, which could be solved by joint efforts. From the Israeli side it is both state and foreign investments in Armenia and also joint business projects. It is clear to everyone that it will be mutually profitable. The Armenian side says it doesn’t want money to export, rather it wants businesses creating jobs for the citizens. I think this is the right approach, because the state must first take care of the people in order to provide them with salary to have decent lives, and means to raise their children and grandchildren. I think that Armenia’s position is the right one. By the way, in my opinion, it is better than the position of Israel, where [people] pay very high taxes. I think that such an approach could be interesting to the Israeli side. If we find the common ground for contact between the Armenian and Israeli interests, we will consider our job done. Anyway, entrepreneurs speak the language of money and that’s natural. That is why we must create the right basis for them to be satisfied.

− Do you think the Israeli-Azerbaijani relations can hinder the development of relations between Armenia and Israel?
− I don’t think so. In all cases, I’ll do my best for it not to.

− How do you think the issues related to the lands of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Jerusalem should be resolved? What is your position on this issue?
− This issue was also discussed at the Knesset session. We clearly realize that the issue should be resolved in favour of the Armenian side. As a member of the Israel-Armenia Friendship Group, I am going to submit the issue exclusively in favour of the Armenian side, and we’ll see how it unfolds.