Nothing extraordinary happened at the airport — the belongings of our delegation members simply underwent additional inspection, and it appears to have been a misunderstanding. Alla Baghdasaryan, press secretary to the head of Armenia’s Ani community, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am, as she commented on the widely discussed incident at the international airport of the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

“Once outside the airport, the welcome was at a high level — our delegation was met by the deputy mayor of Novi Pazar and other officials. Later, under the leadership of [Novi Pazar Mayor] Georgi Georgiev, we were again warmly received at the community center. An agreement on cooperation in several domains was signed, and the rest of the visit was filled with a very impressive and busy agenda. The farewell also took place in a warm atmosphere, and Armenian-Bulgarian relations seem to have been further strengthened as a result of this visit,” Baghdasaryan said.

Asked whether it was just the belongings that was subject to extra screening — as some Bulgarian media claimed that the delegation members were strip-searched and humiliated — she replied: “There was no humiliation whatsoever — nothing of the sort happened. I don’t know how to classify those claims — slander, perhaps, or something else. Yes, they were taken to a separate room where their belongings were to be inspected.

I didn’t take note of the exact time they spent at the airport. There were four people, and if each person was checked for about 15–20 minutes, that could have extended the total time.”

Baghdasaryan dismissed as “ridiculous” the reports alleging that the Armenian delegation tried to reach Austria via Bulgaria.

“That’s just laughable. Nothing like that happened at all. The local authorities will provide the appropriate assessment. The Armenian embassy in Bulgaria is aware of the incident — they, too, are very upset and intend to follow the matter closely. They will issue their own assessment, and the guilty will be punished.

No clear explanations were given at the airport — they simply said, ‘We need to inspect you further,’ and one member of the delegation was apparently told, ‘You want to go to Vienna.’

Calling this a diplomatic scandal is wrong. The [Bulgarian] border police simply displayed sloppy working practices. There was more of an incomprehensible situation, and naturally there was no diplomatic scandal.

Yes. The Armenian embassy in Bulgaria has contacted us — they are also very frustrated and have promised us that they will be consistent with all of this and will give their assessment.,” Baghdasaryan emphasized.

Speaking about the aforesaid delegation from Armenia’s Ani community, she noted: "They have been preparing for more than a month because the invitation was made in August with great enthusiasm. The scope of that cooperation was quite wide. Later, we have reciprocally invited them to our community, and are preparing to invite them to our community. Big celebrations are coming up; so, everything was very promising.

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.