Armenia, which has provided temporary shelter to tens of thousands of refugees from Syria and Iraq, may be given the safe area special status, which also means getting financial assistance from international donor organizations, reported Voice of America Armenian service.

The US Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) have launched this initiative.

In ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian’s words, Armenia best fits the criteria for the safe area special status.

Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, Legate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, said they had discussed this initiative with congress members.

Congressman Frank Pallone, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, noted that Armenia, which did not refuse to accept refugees despite being in a difficult financial situation itself, deserves assistance.

And ambassador of Armenia to the US, Grigor Hovhannissian, stated that at present, there are around 25,000 refugees in Armenia from the Middle East, and this number includes Armenia among countries that have accepted the largest number of refugees on a per capita basis of the given country.