ArmInfo.From Syria alone around 22 thousand Armenians found refuge in Armenia, making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on per capita basis, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in an interview with "Regional Post" magazine.
The press office of the Armenian Foreign Ministry quotes Nalbandian as saying, "The violence in the Middle East has not spared Syrian Armenians, many of whom lost their lives in terrorist attacks. The Armenian settlements, churches, schools and cultural institutions were destroyed. There is a sad symbolism that our fellow Armenians have been again obliged to flee from the very countries that have sheltered them one hundred years ago after the Genocide. From Syria alone around 22 thousand Armenians found refuge in Armenia, making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on per capita basis."
"In the late 80s and beginning of 90s Armenians were either massacred or expelled from their homes in Azerbaijan and found refuge in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Therefore, we have first-hand knowledge about what it means to be a refugee, to host refugees and to work towards solution of their problems," the Minister said. As regards Turkey's policy, he stressed: "The land blockade of Armenia by Turkey is a gross violation of international commitments. It continues to severely hamper regional transit communication routes, economic cooperation and integration."