I express my gratitude to my Syrian counterpart Walid al Muallem for an invitation to visit Syria and for the warm reception of our delegation.

This visit takes place at a difficult time for the friendly Syrian people. We are deeply concerned by the ongoing clashes, the humanitarian crisis, the numerous casualties and tragedies caused by the actions of terrorist.

Since the start of the Syrian crisis we have regularly voiced from different international platforms about the necessity of immediate regulation of the situation in the Middle East, and, particularly, in Syria, the inadmissibility of contribution to the terrorists. From now on too we will continue keeping those issues in the focus of the international community.

It is symbolic, that we visit Syria this very year, i.e. 100 years ago genocide was committed against 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Syrian deserts became the final destination for hundreds of thousands of Armenians. Syrian people lent helping hand to my compatriot survivors of the Genocide, Syria became an asylum and second homeland for them.

Impunity results in new crimes, and the heinous crimes perpetrated by the terrorists serves as the best evidence. We witness new violence, barbarism in the result of which millions of Syrians, including, dozens of thousands of Armenians, were forced again to emigrate.

Saint Martyrs Armenian Church in Deir el-Zor, dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide, which housed the remains of its many victims – itself a place of pilgrimage for Armenians dispersed all around the world – was not exempt from the violence, which creates a symbolic link between the past of the humanity and the current crimes.

State of civilians, including that of Armenians and other minorities of Syria is of our permanent concern. In this regard, I would like to express our gratitude to the Syrian authorities for the caring attitude towards the Armenian community and our cultural heritage.

During the negotiations we reflected on the resolution of the Syrian crisis and efforts exerted in this direction. We are full of confidence that constructive dialogue that takes into account interests of all parties concerned, all Syrians, cessation of the violence will enable addressing the crisis, establishment of peace.

Thank you!