President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Thursday hailed Armenia’s relief efforts following the deadly February 6 earthquake. The Syrian leader met with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan who arrived in Damascus to assess the humanitarian efforts undertaken by Yerevan.
A day after the February 6 earthquake, that also impacted the Armenian-populated cities of Aleppo and Kessab, Armenia sent rescue teams and humanitarian cargo. The foreign ministry reported that a third shipment of essential goods from Armenia arrived in Syria on Thursday.
Assad emphasized the historic ties that connect Syria with Armenia and stressed the need for advancing relations and building alliances between the two countries.
Saying that Syria is home to thousands of Armenians, Mirzoyan said that Armenia had to send assistance to Syria and remembered that country’s support during the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.
Mirzoyan also briefed Assad about the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting from the now 74-day-long blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Armenia’s top diplomat also discussed developments in the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
The Armenian foreign minister held a similar meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mikdad, who earlier in the day welcomed Mirzoyan at the Damascus airport.
