YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian has made remarks at the course of the joint press conference with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria Walid al Muallem. The Press, Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that the Armenian FM particularly underscored:

“I express my gratitude to my Syrian counterpart Walid al Muallem for the invitation to visit Syria and the warm reception of our delegation.

This visit takes place during difficult times for the friendly people of Syria. We are deeply concerned with the ongoing clashes in Syria, the present humanitarian crisis, atrocities and a number of victims killed due to the terrorist acts in the country.

For a number of times, we voiced about the necessity of the immediate regulation of the current situation in the Near East and, particularly, in Syria, from various international platforms. Now too, we’ll continue drawing the attention of the international community on these issues.

It’s symbolic that we pay a visit to Syria this year – 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire 100 years ago. The Syrian deserts became the last place, where hundreds and thousands of Genocide victims stopped… The Syrian people stretched a helpful hand to my fellow-countrymen, which fled from the Genocide. Syria became a refuge and the second homeland for them.

Impunity leads to new crimes. The cruel crimes of the terrorists today prove this. We witnessed new violence, barbarity, due to which millions of Syrians, including tens of thousands of Armenians, are forced to migrate again.

The Holy Martyrs Armenian Church in Deir-ez-Zor, enclosing the relics of the Armenian Genocide victims, which became a sanctuary for the Armenians worldwide, also suffered from the terrorists’ atrocities. This creates a symbolic link between the crimes against humanity of the past and present.

We are constantly worried about the peaceful population of Syria, including the Armenians and other minorities. In this regard, I would like to express our gratitude to the Syrian authorities for the careful attitude towards the Armenian community and our cultural heritage.

At the course of the negotiations, we reflected on the regulation of the Syria crisis and the efforts made in this direction. We are confident that overcoming the crisis and establishing peace is possible by stopping the violence and conducting a constructive dialogue taking into account the interests of all the interested sides and all the Syrians.

Thanks you.”