YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on May 27. Following the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Syria gave a joint press conference. As reports “Armenpress” citing the Syrian SANA agency, at the conference, al-Moallem said that Minister Nalbandian held constructive talks with President Bashar al-Assad and at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, tackling various issues and bilateral relations, asserting that the two sides’ viewpoints were in agreement regarding the issues that were discussed and regarding the need to boost bilateral relations and the importance of combating terrorism in Syria.

“If the international community had imposed the necessary punishment to the butchers who committed the massacres against Armenians in the early 20th century, then their descendants today in Turkey wouldn’t have dared to commit massacres via their pawns in Syria,” al-Moallem said, adding “the question now is: what will the international community do to the new butchers?”

In turn, Edward Nalbandian emphasized: “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.”