14:44,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad in Damascus on February 23.

FM Mirzoyan offered condolences to FM Mikdad and the friendly people of Syria on the devastating February 6 earthquake and expressed the support of Armenia and the Armenian people, the foreign ministry said in a read-out. In this context FM Mirzoyan said that the search and rescue (SAR) teams sent by Armenia were one of the first SAR teams in Syria after the earthquake, and added that Armenia has already sent three batches of humanitarian aid to affected regions.

The foreign ministers discussed issues related to the Armenian-Syrian cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats. The FMs noted that the relations between the two peoples are based on the multi-century friendship between the Armenian and Syrian peoples. In this regard it was stressed that the Armenian community of Syria plays an important role as a bridge between the two countries.

Regional security issues were also on the agenda of the meeting.

FM Mirzoyan presented to his Syrian counterpart details on the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan.