Correspondent for the Syrian SANA cultural newspaper Muhammad Alkhid sat down for an interview with RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria Arshak Poladyan, who touched upon the fates of the Armenians and the Syrians and provided details about the similarities.

The Ambassador mentioned that the Arabs and the Armenians share a common history. Armenia had been Syria’s neighboring country since the establishment of the Arab Khalifate until the Turks came to the region, took over the territories through raids and annexed those territories to the territories of the Ottoman Empire.

Touching upon the annihilation of the Armenians, Ambassador Poladyan said:

“When the Armenians began to demand their rights and independence, the Ottoman Empire began to commit crimes, starting from the days of Sultan Hamid and leading up to the reign of the Ittihat government.

Even the Ittihats, who were fighting against the Sultan and had promised the Armenians freedom committed the most brutal crime and perpetrated the Genocide, using religion against them.

With that, they sowed the seeds of Islamic extremism, the fruits of which are the Islamic extremists’ movements today. the Ottoman Turks hated the Armenians, but the Syrian Arab Muslims received the displaced Armenians with open arms.”

Poladyan went on and mentioned that history repeats itself and that the Syrians are in the same situation today.

Arshak Poladyan concluded with the following:

“Today, we Armenians feel obliged in front of the Syrian Arabs who protected us during the days of the Armenian Genocide. During these difficult times in Syria, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Damascus serves as a “letter of gratitude” to the courageous people of Syria for their generous  attitude towards the Armenians.”