On Tuesday, 20 December, Aram I Catholicos received the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Lebanon, Walid bin Abdallah Bukhari.
His Holiness brought to the ambassador’s attention the closure of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and its grave consequences for the people of Artsakh, and requested Saudi Arabia’s intervention. Then, His Holiness and the ambassador exchanged views on a number of issues pertaining to Lebanon-Saudi Arabia relations, the Lebanese presidential elections, and the socio-economic problems facing the Lebanese people.
It should be noted that a few days earlier the Catholicos had addressed a call to inter-church, inter-religious and international organisations to intervene in order to guarantee the reopening of the Lachin corridor.
The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) condemned in various ways and through public statements Azerbaijan’s barbaric acts as a violation of international law, and demanded the immediate reopening of the Lachin corridor.
Last Sunday, Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan had a telephone conversation with His Holiness Aram I, outlined the steadily worsening socio-economic situation of the people of Artsakh, and asked the Pontiff to continue the efforts being made toward the reopening of the Lachin corridor.
