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YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan's working visit to the United States began on March 28. The President visited Watertown in Massachusetts, where Armenians have established important national structures during the last two centuries. Serzh Sargsyan visited the Armenian Library and Museum of America, which was established in 1971. The Museum is an important structure of the Armenian cultural heritage: coins, glassware, ceramics, carpets, religious items, stamps, textiles, metalwork, maps, printed materials and a rich collection of medieval miniatures are presented here. The President toured the Library-Museum, got acquainted with the exhibits, and talked with representatives of the institution. The President presented a work by Jansem as a gift to the institution; "Armenpress" was informed by the Public Relations and Mass Media Department of the Presidential Administration.
Serzh Sargsyan then visited the “Ramkavar Azatakan" Democratic Liberal Party’s “Fight” center and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s "Hayrenik" center, and got acquainted with the activities of the centers. The "Hayrenik" center of Boston is the oldest Armenian center in the US East Coast. Here are located the Office of the ARF US East Coast ,headquarters of the Armenian Relief Society, as well as the "Hayrenik" Radio, "Armenian Weekly" and "Hayrenik Weekly" publishing offices. The archives of the ARF are located in the “Hayrenik” center, where the materials related to the activities of the ARF are stored. The President met with ARF representatives at the center. The President welcomed the patriotic activities of the parties and wished success.
On the first day of the US visit, President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Holy Trinity and St. Stephen's Armenian churches of Boston. In fact, in 1991 , at the suggestion of the Armenian community of Watertown, the street of St. Stephen Church was renamed "Artsakh", and in 2012 August 6, the House of Representatives of Massachusetts adopted a resolution calling upon the US President and Congress to support the independence and self-determination of Nagorno Karabakh.
The Holy Trinity church visit on March 28 ended the first day of the working visit of the President. In the book of honorable guests, Serzh Sargsyan stressed the church's special role of the preservation of Armenian identity, and the extremely important historical mission.