YEREVAN. - I am leaving many friends in Armenia, who I will always remember and be happy to meet with again.

Andrey Sorokoin, head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, who is completing his diplomatic mission in Armenia, said the aforementioned today.

“I would first of all like to wish the Armenian people health, as well as peace and prosperity,” he noted.

In the diplomat’s words, the diplomatic community in Armenia has a good tradition: when the ambassadors and heads of different diplomatic missions complete their service in Armenia, the ambassadors collect money and buy presents for those leaving.

“When I was asked what present I would like, I asked to provide me the small amount gathered, since I wished to use that sum for charity purposes. I’m aware of the Armenian Donate Life Fund, which was established in 2009 to provide support to children with oncological, hematological and other serious diseases. The main objective of the fund is to help Armenian children receive proper treatment.

The Honorary Chairperson of the fund is the First Lady of Armenia, Mrs Rita Sargsyan. Thus, I decided to donate the 500,000 AMD collected for me to the mentioned fund,” Sorokin said.

He also noted that if this donation helps save the life of at least one child, this is already an achievement of a good and virtuous objective. “I hope other ambassador will follow my example,” the diplomat concluded.