The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, visited Damascus on 23 February and held a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad, as well as with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad.
Upon receiving him, Assad expressed gratitude for the Armenian rescue teams and relief packages that were sent to areas affected by the devastating 6 February earthquake.
The Syrian president also praised the longstanding, historical relationship between the two nations and stressed the importance of continuing to build ties, as “alliances among states with shared principles are important for overcoming challenges.”
Mirzoyan expressed his condolences to Assad and the Syrian people, particularly on behalf of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He added that Armenia will always stand by Syria, and will never forget its “stance beside the Armenians … [and their] assistance when the devastating earthquake occurred there in 1988.”
The Armenian foreign minister also referred to Syria as a “homeland for thousands of Armenians who are still living here.”
During his visit to the Syrian capital, Mirzoyan also met with Syria’s Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, discussing bilateral cooperation based on “solid historical relations between the two countries,” according to SANA.
They also discussed “regional security issues.” Mirzoyan briefed Mekdad on the current humanitarian concern in the Nagarno-Karabakh region, an area contested between Armenia and Azerbaijan – consisting of a majority of ethnic Armenians – over which the two countries have been at war since the 1980s.
Since the start of the US-backed war against Syria in 2011, Armenia has maintained positive ties with Damascus and was among the few who did not sever diplomatic ties with it.
Since the 6 February disaster, a number of regional states, including Algeria, Iraq, and the UAE, were quick to dispatch aid to Syria despite the high risk of US sanctions.
Even longtime backers of the war, such as Saudi Arabia, sent aid to Syria, signifying Damascus’ gradual return to the regional fold after over a decade of brutal conflict.
A few days after the quake, Tunisia announced its intention to restore diplomatic relations with Syria. Later in February, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said that enmity towards Damascus was no longer feasible, adding that there was a “growing consensus” among Arab states for Syria’s reintegration.
This is something that the US finds unacceptable, as it has continued to condemn any normalization with Syria throughout the aftermath of the earthquake.