Nikol Pashinyan, Anthony Barsamian discuss pan-Armenian agenda

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received Anthony Barsamian, Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Armenian Assembly of America and head of the regional office of the Assembly Arpi Vardanyan. Issues related to the Motherland-Diaspora relations and pan-Armenian agenda were discussed at the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan welcomed the guests and said, ‘’We have passed through a rather difficult period and I think we have reached a new point not only in Armenia and Artsakh as a result of the well-known developments, but also the developments outside Armenia have changed and re-formulated the agendas, I mean in the context of the activities of the Armenian Assembly of America, I mean the fact of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the President of the USA, which is a new reality.

I also think that it's important to compare our preceptions on how the Motherland-Diaspora relations should be, what we should do in this new period, what we should continue doing like in the past and where we need some changes and reconsiderations. This and other similar meetings are important for comparing our perceptions and views, so as we could outline our direction and goals. I think we have a new reality, but that reality needs to be defined, what does it mean and what new goals and tasks should be set in this new reality, what are the responsibilities of the Armenian Government and what are the responsibilities of the Diaspora organizations and how those relations should be organized. I am glad we have the opportunity to discuss those issues''.

Anthony Barsamian thanked Nikol Pashinyan for the reception and said, ''Mr. Prime Minister, I am thankful for the reception. First of all, we offer condolences to the country and personally you, we visited Yerablur pantheon, the tombs of the victims. The Armenian community of the USA shares the grief of the loss, since it is directly related to us.

We have come to congratulate you on the completion of the elections, to meet you and the members of the new Government, to listen to your vision. As American-Armenians, we wish the best to this country. We will work, we will guarantee our support to Armenia, we will work with different parliamentary parties, we will work with you as the leader of the country, in order to achieve the best for the country. We are cooperating also with your staff, as in the recent years, and now and in the future we will continue our joint work.

I must say that the Biden's administration has a positive attitude towards us. We will continue to work to deepen Armenian-American cooperation and strengthen Armenia's role in the region''.