Chairman of the Spiritual Council of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, Bishop Sahak Mashalyan has congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election as President of Turkey. In the letter he has raised issues of concerns for the Armenian community, Agos reports.

“We are asking you to address the bureaucratic problems of your non-Muslim citizens in this new period, when our state is being reorganized. The most fragile and diminishing part of this country deserve special and urgent care,” he said.

Mashalyan also pointed to bureaucratic obstacles to the election of the heads of community structures, particularly the election of the Armenian Patriarch.

“We cannot choose our Patriarch, we cannot choose our civilian leaders,” he added.

As a solution, Mashalian suggests starting a new initiative by demonstrating new political will.

“Please give us the door of hope. Let’s breathe a little and collect power. So that we can continue our journey of a thousand years of common history in these lands,” the letter reads.