ArmInfo. Anna Naghdalyan, Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, commented on the issue of humanitarian mission of Armenia in Syria.
''We took note of the statement by the US Department of State in connection with the deployment of the Armenian Humanitarian Mission to Syria (AHM). Armenia and US have long worked together to address the current humanitarian catastrophe in Syria with its massive refugee and displacement crises.
I would like to repeat that throughout the Syrian conflict the plight of civilians, minorities, including the sizable Syrian-Armenian community has consistently been a priority concern for the Armenian people worldwide. The Armenian public opinion strongly reflects deep compassion and concern for the sufferings of civilians and the devastation of the country. We speak about a country which has had an indispensable contribution for the survival of the Armenian nation in the wake of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Consul General has been never stopped operating throughout the crisis. To date Armenia has sheltered around 22000 Syrian refugees and has dispatched 4 airplanes of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. With the establishment of a relative normalcy and security, Armenia is now keen to continue its contribution to the humanitarian mission, including by providing doctors and humanitarian sappers, to help improve the livelihoods of civilians in the conflict-torn Aleppo. AHM is a purely relief mission guided by the International Humanitarian Law and coordinates its work with the relief agencies and international partners present on the ground.
We share the concerns of the international community with regard to the plight of the ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East and attach importance to the continued provision of humanitarian support in Syria'', Naghdalyan's statement, reads, the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports. To recall, on February 8 a group of Armenian specialists in humanitarian demining, medical personnel and ensuring the safety of the specialists themselves, in a total of 83 people, arrived in the Syrian Arab Republic (Aleppo) to provide humanitarian specialized assistance to the Syrian people. The US State Department reacted rather negatively to sending a group of Armenian specialists to Syria. The American side understands the desire of other countries to respond to the humanitarian situation in Syria, and the US shares concerns about the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East. However, we do not support any interaction with the Syrian armed forces, regardless of whether it's about providing assistance to civilians or is of a military nature. We also do not support any cooperation between Armenia and Russia in this mission. Russia cooperated with the Assad regime, which killed civilians and caused a humanitarian catastrophe. Russia in the global arena continues to advocate for the Assad regime and its crimes, the US State Department noted.