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Armenia pays historical debt by sending humanitarian mission to Syria, PM says

According to Nikol Pashinyan, sending a humanitarian mission to Syria involves risks but he was confident that the move "is justified in terms of morals and historical debts"

© Tatyana Zenkovich/pool photo via AP

YEREVAN, March 28. /TASS/. Yerevan is paying its historical debt by sending a humanitarian mission to Syria, Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, addressing the country’s parliament on Thursday.

"If one of our doctors succeeds in saving the life of at least one Syrian whose ancestors helped Armenians during the genocide, gave them food and water, then I believe we will be paying our historical debt to this nation," he said.

According to Pashinyan, sending a humanitarian mission to Syria involves risks but he was confident that such a move "is justified in terms of morals and historical debts."

Tens of thousands of Armenians found shelter in Syria during the Armenian Genocide that took place in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. A large Armenian community still exists in Syria.

On February 8, a group of officers from the Armenian Defense Ministry arrived in Syria to carry out a humanitarian mission. The group includes deminers, security experts and medical workers. Russia assisted the mission’s members in getting to Syria.

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