President Vahagn Khachaturyan expressed gratitude in Prague to Czech Rescuers who supported Armenia

Within the framework of his official visit to the Czech Republic, President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan, together with President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, attended the event at the Office of the President of the Czech Republic entitled “Solidarity: Commemorating Czech Support to Armenia Following the 1988 Earthquake.”

The event was attended by representatives of the Czech rescuers who carried out rescue missions in Armenia following the devastating earthquake of December 7, 1988, as well as representatives of organizations that organized humanitarian fundraising campaigns.

In his remarks, President Khachaturyan expressed his gratitude to all those who supported Armenia during the difficult days following the earthquake.

“What our friends in Czechoslovakia did in 1988 was invaluable and will never be forgotten. At that time, we were in great need of support. I was in the earthquake zone, in the Spitak area, and it was only in the morning that we realized the true scale of the disaster—destroyed homes, people trapped under the rubble, and a lack of the necessary tools and resources. In that difficult situation, any assistance, including the support provided by rescuers who came from Czechoslovakia, was of great importance to us,” the President of the Republic said.

Vahagn Khachaturyan expressed confidence that the work carried out by the Czech rescuers, which helped save human lives, would never be forgotten.

“I would like to extend my words of gratitude to all those who took part in that mission and are here with us today. Be assured that what you did lives on in the memories of the people you helped. Thank you once again,” the President said.

At the conclusion of the event, representatives of the Czech rescuers conveyed their greetings to the people of Armenia and presented President Khachaturyan with the Czech Rescuers’ Medal as a symbolic token of friendship and solidarity.