Armenia–Australia relations are

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Australia's accredited mission to Armenia is from its embassy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

History

Armenia and Australia officially established relations in 1992, and the two countries since then have developed a fairly friendly relationship.

Armenian diaspora in Australia

While Armenia and Australia only established relations in 1992, Armenians first appeared in Australia in 1850s (Armenians were either known as Turks, Persians or Russians), but only became relevant when the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

occurred. The Armenian genocide happened on the same day as the Entente decided to launch the Gallipoli Campaign against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

with hope to finish the war quickly, but unsuccessful. Nonetheless, Australian troops frequently contacted the Armenians being deported and starved by the Ottoman Turkish authorities in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and developed a sense of sympathy to the Armenian victims. Armenians were granted refugee status to settle in Australia following the WWI, but the migration only reached peak when the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began when Armenia was under Soviet occupation, upheavals in Iran, Iraq and Syria, and later the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

. The Armenian community in Australia has a strong connection to Armenia, and has frequently clashed with the Turkish and Azerbaijani diaspora population over the Karabakh conflict.

Armenian genocide recognition

Australia has not recognized the Armenian genocide due to its relations with Turkey. However, Armenia and Australia have a connection throughout the World War I, when Australia as part of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

fought against the Ottomans the same day as the Armenian genocide began. The importance, for both nations, are known: for Armenians, it was a quest of survival from the oppression, while for Australians, it was a watershed moment fomenting a common Australian identity. Frequent contact with Armenian deportees had forged a sense of solidarity, Australian troops had assisted relief efforts to Armenian deportees and in March 1918, Australian Colonel

Stanley Savige Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, (26 June 1890 – 15 May 1954) was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in the First World War and Second World War. In March 1915, after the outbr ...

made a brave defending against the Ottoman force routing the Armenian and Assyrian genocide victims, saving the lives of many Armenians and

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

. An Australia-run orphanage was established in

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

, Lebanon to provide aids for Armenian orphans. Although Australia has yet to recognize the genocide, Armenian genocide is mentioned thanks for efforts by Armenian scholar Vicken Babkenian and his Australian counterpart Peter Stanley, but it gained more relevance, in particular owning by

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

's increasing hostility and anti-Australian remarks in recent years, most notably his blaming against Australia over

Christchurch mosque shootings Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...

in 2019. Australia has endorsed a solution to recognize the Armenian genocide in 2018.

Economic relations

The total value of imports from Australia during 2014–18 period was approximately US$23 million while the total value of exports was approximately US$697,000. The peak year for imports into Armenia from Australia was 2014, which was approximately US$9 million, while the peak year for exports from Armenia into Australia was 2016, which was US$214,000; thus expectation of economic boosting has increased despite negligence on relations.

References

External links