The Ministry of Diaspora is doing everything possible to transfer Syrian-Armenians from Syria to Armenia, if they appeal to the Ministry. This is what Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan stated in an interview with NEWS.am, adding that the Ministry has been supporting Syrian-Armenians and transferring them to the homeland with the mechanism that it has been applying for the past five years.

“Syria is in a dire situation. It has never been easy. We simply receive news and regret to hear that our compatriots are being killed. Overall, the situation in Syria has become ordinary. There are bombardments every day, and unfortunately, this is a usual phenomenon. The Ministry has developed all kinds of mechanisms to transfer Syrian-Armenians, help them reach Yerevan, become integrated and provide them with jobs and education for the past five years. We develop mechanisms every day,” the Minister of Diaspora said.

She stated that the Ministry is constantly in contact with the Consulate of Armenia in Syria every day and quietly solve the problems facing the Armenians in Syria. “We solve all the problems without making a big deal about it because nobody has to know that we are transferring the Syrian-Armenians and because neither the government nor the opposition accepts the fact that they need to leave. They believe the Armenians need to stay and work like all Syrians.”

Touching upon the statement of “Aleppo” Compatriotic Charitable Non-Governmental Organization that 600 Syrian-Armenians have addressed the organization with the request to be transferred to Armenia, the Minister said the following: “The statements that 600 Syrian-Armenians have gathered and want to be transferred to Armenia are inaccurate. I regret the fact that certain people or organizations are trying to make money by making statements about the Syrian crisis and not let anyone know what happened to the money. For the past ten days, we have been asking that organization to provide us with lists of those 600 Syrian-Armenians, but the organization still hasn’t responded.”

Hranush Hakobyan declared that four Syrian-Armenian families have arrived in Armenia over the past fifteen days.

The Minister of Diaspora also said that the Syrian-Armenians residing in Armenia shouldn’t be set aside from the citizens of Armenia and that there shouldn’t be a demand to create health conditions for them.

“The Syrian-Armenians are like the residents of Armenia. There are many privileges for Syrian-Armenians, but it’s not like we have to create health conditions for them. Let’s not distinguish between citizens of the Republic of Armenia and Syrian-Armenians residing in the Republic of Armenia. The Syrian-Armenian who has been living in Armenia for five years is already a citizen of Armenia,” Hranush Hakobyan said.