Armenian–Syrian relations are foreign relations between

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Armenia has an embassy in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and a consulate general in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. In 1997, Syria opened an embassy in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa visited Armenia in March 1992.

Country Comparisons

History

Syria established diplomatic relations with Armenia soon after the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Syrian President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

maintained good relationships in part because of the large Armenian community in Syria.

Syrian Civil War

Despite the country's ongoing Syrian Civil War, the Armenian embassy is still open in Damascus and the countries maintain diplomatic relations. Following president

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

's victory in the

2014 Syrian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Syria on 3 June 2014. There is a scholarly consensus that the elections were not democratic. The result was a landslide victory for Bashar al-Assad, who received over 90% of the valid votes. He was sworn in f ...

, Armenian president

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

congratulated Assad, saying, "I wish you

good health and successes and I wish the friendly Syrian people eternal peace." Armenia has also provided tons of humanitarian aid to Syria throughout the civil war, most notably sending 40 tons of humanitarian aid including relief and food items in 2017. Armenian Ambassador Arshak Poladian stated that the aid “came under the directives of the President of Armenia and presented by the Armenian people.” In 2022, the new Syrian Ambassador to Yerevan, Nora Arisian, a Syrian Armenian and former MP of the

People's Assembly of Syria The People's Assembly ( ar, مَجْلِس الشَّعْب, ) is Syria's legislative authority. It has 250 members elected for a four-year term in 15 multi-seat constituencies. There are two main political fronts; the National Progressive Fron ...

, was appointed. This step was perceived by both parties as a further development of mutual relations.

Armenian genocide and Nagorno-Karabakh

Syria recognized the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

in 2015, becoming the second Arab state after

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

to do so, which was perceived positively by Armenia and Armenians. This came amidst the straining of relations between Syria and Turkey. The Turkish Government was angered over the recognition. Armenia is accused by both Turkey and Azerbaijan of allowing Syrian refugees to resettle in Karabakh, amidst diplomatic tensions between Turkey and Syria. In 2020, when the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

erupted, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad voiced his support for Armenia, accusing Turkey of sending terrorists into the region.

Cultural relations

Around 120,000 people of Armenian descent live in Syria. They compose a majority in the towns of Kessab and

Yakubiyah Al-Yacoubiyah ( ar, اليعقوبية, al-Yaʿqūbīyah, hy, Յակուբիե; also spelled Yacoubiyeh, Yakoubieh, Yacoubeh or Yaqoubiyah) is a village in north-west Syria, administratively part of the Jisr ash-Shugur District, subordinate to th ...

, and play a part in the political life of Syria. During the

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

used the Syrian desert of Deir ez-Zor as the main killing fields of Armenians. The native

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

sheltered and supported the Armenians. A memorial complex commemorating this tragedy was opened in the city of Deir ez-Zor. It was designed by Sarkis Balmanoukian and was officially inaugurated in 1990 with the presence of the Armenian Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia

Karekin I Karekin I ( Armenian: ) (August 27, 1932 – June 29, 1999) served as the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 1994 and 1999. Previously, he served as the Catholicos of Cilicia from 1983 to 1994 as Karekin II ( Armenian: ). ...

. The complex contains bones and remnants recovered from the Deir ez-Zor desert of Armenian victims of the genocide and has become a pilgrim destination for many Armenians in remembrance of their dead, before being partially destroyed by ISIL.

References

Bibliography

External links

Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: direction of the Syrian embassy in Yerevan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenia-Syria relations

Bilateral relations of Syria