Armen Sarkissian Meets with Armenian Community Representatives in Amman

During his working visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with representatives of the Armenian community in the capital city of Amman. The spiritual leader of the Armenian community in Jordan, Reverend Avetis Ipradzhyan, welcomed the Armenian president's visit, noting that the community is closely observing the events taking place in the homeland and is well aware of the details of the Artsakh war. He informed that during these difficult days, the Jordanian community also aimed to provide support to their compatriots in Armenia and Artsakh.

“I wish success to us all, so that we act wisely to overcome these crisis days, and in the near future, we will welcome brilliant victories that the whole world will envy, and we will be proud of these deeds,” said the spiritual leader. “Now we need to act united, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and with mutual tolerance. The homeland is the greatest sanctity, the protection of which is the duty of the entire Armenian nation. We all must fight for the security and prosperity of the homeland.”

President Armen Sarkissian thanked the community for their hospitality and for the support provided to the homeland during difficult times. He spoke about the Azerbaijani-Turkish war unleashed against Artsakh, the situation created in the country, the goals of his visit to Jordan, and also answered questions from community representatives.

The President of Armenia noted that there are numerous difficulties and issues: “The disgraceful end of the war, the issues related to the current status of Artsakh, the fact that many Artsakh residents have found their home in Armenia today, and only God knows whether that home is temporary or permanent. Thousands of young Armenians lost their lives, thousands of children lost their parents, thousands of young Armenians are wounded, thousands of soldiers are returning home, while at home, there are great economic difficulties that have also deepened due to the coronavirus. These are realities that you cannot turn a blind eye to.”

Armen Sarkissian emphasized that the best way to victory is to correctly assess one's own values and capabilities. He underlined that during these difficult days, we find our friends anew. “Jordan is our friendly country. When I received an invitation from His Excellency to visit Jordan officially during these difficult days, I accepted it with joy. This invitation testifies that Jordan extends a hand to our country at the most difficult time for Armenia, demonstrating to the whole world, primarily to the Muslim world, that Armenia is not alone,” said the President of Armenia. “Moreover, it shows that this war has not been and will never be regarded as a religious war. On the contrary, the leader of the Islamic world is among the first to extend a hand to us.”

Speaking about future actions, President Sarkissian specifically stated: “Although we have been defeated today, I believe our friends believe that we will be able to rise and show that we cannot be defeated because losing a battle is one thing, but standing up afterward, finding strength, and preparing for the next challenges of life is simply a necessity. We have a path, and it's a difficult one, but we can overcome it if we are all together, not fragmented into blacks-and-whites, government-opposition, and so on. Let’s stop insulting each other and throwing dirt at one another. From morning to night, we must work without stopping, all together. If we do not work, we will insult each other, waiting for someone to come to defend us... If you are not prepared, even the closest friend will not defend you because why should they defend you if you do not want to defend yourself? For this, national unity is very essential. It is simply a necessity at this time.”

Regarding the meetings held during his visit, the President of Armenia noted that the focus of discussions has been on deepening cooperation. “This country has experience working with those who have been deprived of their home. This country also has a history of building a modern army. This country has a history of valuing culture and education. During the visit, we spoke about cooperation in education, science, new technologies, and artificial intelligence. It should be clear to all of us that the next war will be fought with such drones controlled by artificial intelligence. We must prepare for that war, and the way to that is through education, universities, science, natural sciences, and artificial intelligence,” emphasized the President. “We also discussed a very significant issue, such as food security. Armenia has a lot to offer. Our discussions were quite broad and effective.”

In his meeting with representatives of the Armenian community, President Sarkissian also informed that King Abdullah II will support the complete restoration of the Holy Karapet Armenian Apostolic Church, which symbolizes Armenian-Jordanian friendship and ensures the continuous presence of Armenian history in Jordan, located on the shores of the Jordan River, at the site of Jesus Christ's baptism. They also talked with the Jordanian king about the preservation of Armenian cultural and spiritual values.

In answering questions from the representatives of the Armenian community, President Sarkissian touched on the ways out of the created situation in the country, emphasizing the importance of resolving the crisis through constitutional means. Speaking about his proposals for holding extraordinary parliamentary elections and forming a national consensus government, the President stressed that in a parliamentary country, the way to resolve the crisis has always been through extraordinary elections. The idea of forming a national consensus government is also not new. “In any such situation, when there are great difficulties, there is only one way to overcome them – unity and being together,” said President Sarkissian. “My proposal is precisely this: for the government and the opposition to have a dialogue, and they can come to the president for that. The institution of the president exists precisely for this purpose; the president should be the person who will support the solutions to the most vital and essential problems for the country.”