ArmInfo. The Consulate General of Armenia in Aleppo and the Embassy in Damascus are working in emergency mode and are in constant contact with the leadership of the Armenian community in northern Syria. Official representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan announced this on October 14 during a briefing in Yerevan.
Recalling that today, about 3.000 Armenians live in northeast Syria, she emphasized that various options are being developed for the evacuation of compatriots if they express a desire to leave the territories affected by the Turkish invasion. "We get timely information about the situation on the ground, and generally about the humanitarian situation in Syria," she said, adding that to date, there has been no military clash in the places of dense Armenians, in connection with which the question of their emergency evacuation.
When asked about the possible sending of the military contingent to Syria, which has been repeatedly stated in various expert circles, Naghdalyan emphasized that the Armenian side is considering various options for helping the friendly people of Syria. <Various options and scenarios for the development of events and how to help compatriots and how to help the peaceful Syrian population are being considered. But the scenario you have indicated is not among those considered>, the representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry noted.
It should be noted that on October 9, Turkey launched a large-scale "anti-terrorist operation" in the areas of Syria east of the Euphrates River.
According to the Turkish president, the goal of the operation, called "Source of Peace", is to eliminate the threat of terrorism along the Turkish borders and create a "security zone" where millions of Syrian refugees will voluntarily return. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that Washington did not give Turkey the green light to start a military operation in northern Syria. At the same time, Pompeo supported the decision of Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from this area. This decision of the American president has been criticized both in the United States and outside the country. Donald Trump himself, after the start of the air raids, called the operation of Turkey against the Syrian Kurds "a bad idea."
The Armenian Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made statements condemning the actions of the Turkish authorities. The Armenian Foreign Ministry emphasized the unacceptability of Turkey's military invasion of northeast Syria and called on the international community to take efforts to curb these actions by the Turkish authorities, which will further destabilize the situation in the region. The EU also condemned Turkey's actions in Syria. And in the US Senate, a bill has already been submitted, which involves the imposition of sanctions against Turkey.