The municipality of Ani, Armenia, has issued a statement regarding a widely discussed incident at the international airport of Bulgarian capital Sofia.

The clarification reads as follows: “Ani Municipality informs that media reports claiming a high-profile diplomatic scandal took place at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport during the Ani community delegation’s visit to Bulgaria from October 1 to 4 do not correspond to reality. Moreover, the local press cited Bulgarian media sources in their reports.

Ani Municipality clarifies that the Armenian delegation, led by Ani community head Arman Saribekyan, which arrived in Bulgaria on October 1, considers the incident that occurred at the airport checkpoint a misunderstanding.

The RA [i.e. the Republic of Armenia] embassy in Bulgaria is informed of what occurred. The diplomatic mission will follow up on the matter and provide an appropriate assessment.

Let us note that following the incident, the Ani delegates were greeted at the airport by the deputy Mayor of Novi Pazar and other officials. Later, at the invitation of Novi Pazar Mayor Georgi Georgiev, the delegation, headed by community head Arman Saribekyan, was warmly received.

The four-day official visit took place in a in a cordial and intimate atmosphere, with a packed and impressive agenda, as reflected in our previous publications.”

As reported earlier, diplomatic scandal erupted at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport of the Bulgarian capital city after members of an Armenian delegation were subjected to what officials described as a “humiliating and degrading” search, Bulgarian news outlet Blitz reports.