Armenian President Armen Sarkissian who is in Serbia on an official visit, and his wife, Nouneh Sarkissian, on Saturday visited the Monument to the Unknown Hero, in capital city Belgrade, which eternalizes the memory of Serbian soldiers fallen in World War I.

At the monument—and accompanied by Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, President Sarkissian and Mrs. Sarkissian paid tribute to these soldiers. Afterwards, Armenian President Sargsyan signed the memorial book of this monument.

Subsequently, President Sarkissian and Mrs. Sarkissian paid a visit to the ancient Belgrade Fortress. Accompanied by Mayor Zoran Radojičić of Belgrade, they toured this fortress and laid flowers on its Armenian gravestones.

There is also an Armenian trace in the Belgrade Fortress. Many Armenian merchants settled in Serbia in the 16th and 18th centuries and founded an Armenian church. The latter, however, was not preserved, but its area’s gravestones in Armenian letters were moved to the area of the aforesaid fortress and are preserved there.

In his remarks, Mayor Radojičić said that the Serbian people are familiar with the history and culture of the Armenian people, they value it, and appreciate the Armenian President’s visit to this historic place where there is also an Armenian trace. He noted that they would be happy to declare Belgrade and Yerevan sister cities.