I was deeply saddened by the loss of human lives, deaths of three of our compatriots, the dozens of injured, and the widespread devastation as a result of the explosion that occurred in Beirut. Melkumyan, an MP of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, wrote about this on his Facebook page

"We and our state must take care of our compatriots who have found themselves in a hopeless situation. The [Armenian] halls of power must launch operative solutions, both to provide assistance on the spot and to transfer our compatriots to the homeland as much as possible.

Every one of our compatriots living in Beirut should feel the presence and support of the motherland.

Let us all stand united in support of our compatriots.

Right now it is necessary to carry out extraordinary and special measures.

We, the MPs of the Prosperous Armenia Party, talked about this topic in the morning with the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, who is going to organize appropriate assistance to our compatriots [in Beirut]," Melkumyan added.