Serzh Sargsyan today had a meeting with representatives of the Syrian-Armenian community and a number of Armenian organizations, as well as benefactors and relevant officials dealing with the issues of the community, as reported the press service of the RA President to Hayern Aysor.

The President of the Republic stated that he had invited the participants of the meeting to discuss new ideas and programs for support, as well as receive first-hand information about the latest developments and the current situation from the Syrian-Armenians, the current needs of the Armenian community, exchange views on the programs for support to Syrian-Armenians who have settled in and are immigrating to Armenia.

“Unfortunately, Syria and particularly Aleppo have been in the news for a long time due to the tragic events that are taking place. For us, I am referring to us Armenians, Syria, Aleppo are not merely familiar names, as they are for many people, but a country and a settlement where our compatriots live. That is exactly why Armenia still has a Consulate General in Aleppo when the diplomatic representatives of all other countries left Aleppo a long time ago.

I can definitely say that our approach has been and still is the following: every Syrian-Armenian family has the right to come to Armenia, and if a family decides to leave Syria, we wish that the family comes to Armenia. We are ready to do everything possible to create at least the minimum conditions so that those people can become integrated into our society over time and solve their problems on their own,” the President said.

Primate of the Aleppo Diocese of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Fr. Archbishop Shahan Sarkisian and the other participants of the meeting shared their concerns about the situation created as a result of the ongoing war in Syria, made recommendations to combine their efforts and support the Syrian-Armenian community and expressed gratitude for the heartfelt attitude and generosity of the Republic of Armenia and Armenian organizations and the support that they been consistently showing to Syrian-Armenians by all means throughout the years.