The following was released today by Armenia’s Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.

Members of a fact-finding delegation from Armenia headed by RA High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, dispatched to Beirut to assess the needs of the Lebanese-Armenian community in the wake of the August 4 explosion, yesterday met with the President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East Rev. Megerdich Karageozian and Haigazian University President Rev. Paul Haidostian. 

RA Ambassador to Lebanon Vahagn Atabekyan was present at the meeting.

Welcoming the guests, Reverend Karageozian stressed that it is a great honor to receive the Armenian delegation during these difficult days for Lebanon and to see them by their side.

“When I saw the airplane with the Armenia inscription carrying the humanitarian assistance with Mount Ararat in the background, I was sincerely moved,” stated Rev. Karageozian.  

He noted that the explosion had a serious emotional and psychological impact on the Lebanese-Armenian community. 

During the meeting, Sinanyan, discussed the details of the humanitarian assistance being provided by Armenia, the two additional airplanes to arrive, and the steps being taken regarding repatriation.  

The delegation toured the Armenian Evangelical Church with its famous stained-glass cross which is now entirely shattered.

The members of the delegation also visited Haigazian University and witnessed the damage done there.