Lebanon’s President Aoun Visits Armenia

“The well-known Arab saying states that a true friend is a single soul in two bodies. I think this is best characterized by the Armenian-Lebanese relations, where there are no unsolvable issues, where the sides’ mutual understanding serves the welfare and sustainable development of our two peoples,” Sargsyan said.

In turn, Aoun thanked President Sargsyan for a warm welcome, stressing that this was his first trip to Armenia and, while being an official-political visit, it bears a special character.

“Going through this land, burdened with historical faith and martyrdom, cannot be a simple or traditional outing. We had chosen two monuments as the evidence of that history. Yesterday we visited the Mother Cathedral of Echmiadzin, one of the oldest churches in the world, where we had a feeling of firmness of faith, which made the Armenian people a champion among the world’s nations, proclaimed its identity and belief in the first centuries. It required courage and sacrifice when Roman persecution reached their peak.

“The second is the monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, where the heartbeat is accelerating to the brutal images of children, women and men who stand out as the reflection of heroism, sufferings and wounds against the backdrop of an eternal fire,” Aoun said. “These horrific scenes expose the idea of destruction with which the entire Orient was consumed at the outset of the twentieth century. …. Our two peoples were victims of that idea. The Armenians were killed with the sword, the Lebanese people through famine. Unfortunately, that same mentality once again has appeared in recent years, leading to hundreds of thousands of victims. Undoubtedly, the failure to face history and the lack of accountability for the past deeds is an incentive for today’s massacres,” Aoun said.

He thanked Sargsyan for the warm welcome.

“Let me raise my glass to the wellbeing of both countries and peoples, to the true peace that should be based on tolerance, the respect of others’ right to dignified life and freedom,” he said.

“I must say that the Armenian community had a great contribution to Lebanon’s development and prosperity. They are quite seriously engaged in all fields of their activity and responsible circles. We rely on them very much in all fields. We are a broad society, and the Armenian community managed to maintain their culture and identity in Lebanon. Of course, we attach importance to and are proud of this pluralism and cultural diversity since we are able to benefit from them and develop Lebanon,” Aoun said.

He returned to Lebanon later in the week.