Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today met with members of the first group of Armenian specialists who carried out a humanitarian mission in Syria.

Welcoming the members of the Armenian humanitarian mission, the Prime Minister thanked them for successful implementation of the mission.

“In February this year, the Armenian government made a very important decision to send a humanitarian mission to Syria, which of course gave rise to many discussions - internal political, foreign political and geopolitical. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that the most important and perhaps the only substantive aspect of this mission is its humanitarian goal,” the Head of Government noted.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed that even he believed this mission to be historic as it was a tribute paid to the people of Syria who in 1915 gave refuge to thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors. “I think this specifically symbolizes the great moral and historical mission that the Republic of Armenia carried out in your person,” the Head of Government pointed out.

The Prime Minister presented the mission’s impact in figures: the Armenian mission has de-mined a total area of 27,510 square meters in Syria, 241 patients received surgical treatments, 626 patients received therapeutic treatment, 1067 clinical and laboratory examinations were conducted.

“These figures can primarily be assessed by those people behind them - by those whose quality of life underwent a certain change in the course of this mission. Of course, an important goal was to ensure the security of our compatriots in Aleppo, as well as ensuring the security of the Armenian cultural heritage in Aleppo. This is also a symbol of the fact that the Republic of Armenia is ultimately the owner of not only the cultural heritage left by the Armenian people in Armenia, but also beyond its borders,” Nikol Pashinyan stressed.

The Prime Minister noted that he highly appreciated the support provided by the Russian Federation in the course of this mission.

“I consider it very important that quite recently the Armenian Ministry of Defense received from the UN headquarters an official letter whereby the United Nations expressed gratitude to Armenia for implementing the humanitarian mission in Syria. Ever since the outset of the Syrian crisis, the Republic of Armenia has not remained indifferent to the fate of the friendly Syrian nation. The Republic of Armenia provided humanitarian assistance to Syria in 2016, 2017, 2018. We have clearly defined our position: we wish peace in Syria and wellbeing for its people; we wish the crisis ended as soon as possible; we wish the Syrian people to return to peaceful life as early as possible,” the Premier noted.

Reiterating his appreciation, Nikol Pashinyan wished every success to those Armenian doctors, sappers and other specialists who are completing a humanitarian mission in Syria right now.

“I want to emphasize that this attitude toward the Syrian Arab Republic and the friendly Syrian people will not change ahead, and we will do everything possible to assist them in resolving the crisis: I first of all mean the humanitarian crisis, because our mission is humanitarian,” the Prime Minister said.

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The first humanitarian mission consisted of sappers, doctors and security specialists, and was sent to the Syrian Arab Republic (Aleppo) on February 8, 2019. The Armenian specialists began humanitarian activities in those areas of Aleppo where military operations were not carried out in order to de-mine the area, raise awareness of the threats coming from mines and provide medical services. The second group from Armenia went to Syria on June 16 and will be fulfilling its mission for the next 4 months.