Video: 'I personally went to the Mother See and tried to convince the Catholicos for two hours, but it didn't work,' Sinanyan

The Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Zareh Sinanyan, stated during a conversation with journalists after the government meeting that he personally invited the Catholicos of All Armenians to the Global Armenian Summit.

“Three months ago, I personally went to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin out of respect for the institution, inviting the Catholicos. I tried for two hours to convince him that it is appropriate to be present, but it didn’t work. It sounds ridiculous that it would have been better to invite him by letter. Should I have sent a dry letter without face-to-face interaction? That would have been better? In their response, there was a suggestion that the invitation was not made correctly; well, after this, we will only work with letters, which is not right. Normal people, when dealing with the institution of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, should have a personal approach, which I demonstrated. Furthermore, I also personally invited Aram I; I traveled to Beirut to do this, not by phone or letter, but personally as a sign of respect,” said Zareh Sinanyan.

Referring to the purpose of the Global Armenian Summit, the Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs emphasized that the summit aims not only to benefit Armenia but also the Diaspora. “There should be a dual benefit to ensure that these relations endure. This will provide continuity to our dialogue, presenting the realities of Armenia to the Diaspora, which has a somewhat distorted understanding of our challenges. This will help in developing overall solutions or starting the development, and it will create our next steps or a roadmap,” he added.

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