Armenia is willing to take part in the reconstruction of friendly Syria, Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan said on Monday during a meeting with Syrian ambassador in Yerevan Mohamed Haj Ibrahim.
Aided by the Russian military the Syrian government forces have managed to restore control over much of the territory of the Middle Eastern country torn by years of war and internal strife, but economic recovery and reconstruction still appear to remain a vital concern for the authorities in Damascus.
Russia has recently sought a greater Western involvement in the rebuilding of Syria. The United States and its allies, meanwhile, believe that reconstruction assistance should be tied to a process that includes U.N.-supervised elections and a political transition in Syria. Washington blames the regime of Bashar al-Assad for Syria’s devastation.
Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011 hostilities have also affected a sizable ethnic Armenian conflict in Syria. Tens of thousands of Syrian Armenians fled their homes, with many of them given refuge in Armenia during recent years.
During the meeting with the Syrian ambassador Babloyan expressed hope that “peace, internal political stability and public solidarity will soon be established in Syria.”
He also expressed his gratitude to the Syrian legislature for its activities towards the recognition of the Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians as genocide.
Many of the Syrian Armenians are descendants of survivors of the 1915 massacres who found refuge in Aleppo and other Syrian cities and towns.
Ambassador Haj Ibrahim attached importance to the role of the Syrian-Armenian community, which he described as “an integral part of the Syrian society that has vastly contributed to the country’s development.”
“What the Syrian people have seen during these recent years is like what Armenians saw in Western Armenia [the part of historical Armenia, which is now in Turkey],” the Syrian diplomat said, according to the Armenian parliament’s official website.