YEREVAN. – Armenia should have intervened in the Syrian conflict much earlier and helped the large local Armenian community, since it had such chances numerous times.

Armenia’s opposition Heritage Party Board Secretary Stiopa Safaryan stated the aforementioned at a press conference on Wednesday.

“Armenia could and should have taken [relevant] steps years ago. Of course, I can’t say that Armenia would have made a difference, but it had the chance to help the Armenians there.

“The [Armenian] government, on the other hand, spoke about the Syrian Armenians [solely] one or two times, rendered a small assistance [to them], and that’s all,” he said.

Safaryan expressed a conviction that Syria’s predominantly Armenian-populated town of Kessab was devoid of its Armenian population because of Armenia’s silence.   

“When the whole world was talking about the hired killers, Armenia was silent. When the whole world was talking about terrors, Armenia didn’t get involved yet again. And now, when entire Kessab became devoid of its Armenians, Armenia began talking just now,” Heritage’s member stated.

In the early morning on March 21, armed militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra Islamic terrorist group infiltrated into northern Syria’s Latakia Governorate, which is predominantly inhabited by Armenians and Alawites, from four directions. Two large groups of terrorists had launched the attack from Turkey. About 600 Kessab-Armenian families are currently sheltered in Latakia city. On March 23, Turkish fighter planes downed a Syrian military aircraft that was conducting a mission against the Islamic terrorists in Kessab. On Monday, a group of Armenian parliament members headed to Latakia.