Hours after an explosion rocked the Surmalu shopping center in Yerevan, Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s envoy for normalizing relations with Armenia, sent a condolence note addressed to his Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan.
“I am deeply shocked by the news about the powerful explosion that took place in the open-air shopping center in the center of Yerevan. I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of the victim and wish a speedy recovery to all those injured as a result of this tragedy,” Kilic wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday.
Kilic was one of many in the international community to mark the tragedy through condolences messages on social media or directly to Armenia’s authorities.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia offered his condolences to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who also received a message from Stanislav Zas, the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, commonly known as the CSTO.
Similar messages poured in from diplomatic representations from the European Union, the United States, China, France, Iran, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia and other nations.
Also offering their blessing and support to the people of Armenia were the Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians and Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia.
Garo Paylan, an Armenian lawmaker in Turkey’s parliament representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) also offered his condolences.
“I express my condolences to the Armenian people,” Paylan said in a tweet.
