President Serzh Sargsyan hosts official dinner in honor of Lebanon President Michel Aoun

Later today, President Serzh Sargsyan hosted an official dinner in honor of Lebanese President Michel Aoun who is paying an official visit to Armenia.

Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Michel Aoun exchanged toasts in which they touched upon the Armenian-Lebanese interstate relations which, according to the Presidents, are marked by special warmth and a spirit of friendship. Serzh Sargsyan and Michel Aoun talked about the two peoples’ common history, the hardships faced together, and their destinies that are intertwined with many threads of spiritual and cultural affinity.

“The Armenian-Lebanese friendship stems from Antelias, Burj Hamud and Ainchar down to the bust of the world-famous Lebanese writer, philosopher and art figure Jubran Khalil Jubran near Beirut Street at the heart of Yerevan. Indeed, all this is best relished by thousands of Lebanese Armenians with their peaceful and creative activities, devotion to Lebanon and filial love for Armenia.

While walking down Beirut streets, the Armenian breath exists everywhere. I feel great pride that our compatriots have been able to manifest themselves as dignified and law-abiding Lebanese citizens in all areas of public life, contributing thus to the development and prosperity of Lebanon. And I feel grateful to the people of Lebanon and the Lebanese authorities for the opportunity of self-assertion granted to the Armenians,” the President of Armenia said.

President Sargsyan emphasized that the Lebanese-Armenian community is not only a solid link in bilateral relations, but they also serve as a spiritual, cultural and educational pulse for Armenians around the world. As the best example of this, Serzh Sargsyan cited the existing of numerous educational, spiritual and cultural institutions operating in Lebanon and the only higher education institution in the Diaspora - the Haigazian University - the graduates of which, according to the President, continue to provide a lifeline for Armenian communities in the region and around the world.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to friend Lebanon for standing by the Armenian people during the tragic events of history and accommodating a portion of Genocide survivors.

“Unfortunately, the Middle East is experiencing new tragedies that reaffirm that the philosophy of the Armenian Genocide is still persistent in the 21st century, and that our struggle to prevent them is not yet over.

Here, I would like to highlight Armenia’s readiness to support Lebanon and express the hope that strong with centuries-old wisdom and patriotic values, the Lebanese people will be able to defy the challenges with dignity and self-consciousness,” President Sargsyan said.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed confidence that the issues discussed and the agreements reached during the Lebanese President’s visit will be materialized in the near future to enrich the Armenian-Lebanese multifaceted cooperation agenda.

“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.

Let me propose a toast to President Michel Aoun of the Republic of Lebanon for the sake of the Armenian-Lebanese friendship and a peaceful and prosperous future in our region.

Long live Lebanon! Long live the Armenian-Lebanese friendship!” President Serzh Sargsyan concluded.

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

“Going through this sorely suffered 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.

These horrific scenes expose the idea of destruction with which the entire Orient was consumed at the outset of the twentieth century. This mentality implied another type of enemy, who was to be killed, its culture and civilization - destroyed mediating most terrible massacres and leaving behind millions of martyrs.

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 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,” President Michel Aoun said.

He praised the Lebanese-Armenian community in his toast, emphasizing that it is an inseparable part of Lebanon’s society.

“Honorable Mr. President,

I express my gratitude for your warm welcome, and I would also like to thank all those who worked for this trip to succeed.

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,” the Lebanese President concluded.