Regarding the incident involving the delegation of the Ani community of the Shirak region at Sofia Airport, the Armenian Embassy in Bulgaria has been in contact with the head of the delegation and, upon learning about the incident, has taken steps to obtain clarifications from the host country and avoid similar incidents in the future, the spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Minister Ani Badalyan said in response to a question from Armenpress.
"What happened is not qualified as a "diplomatic scandal,'" as spread by the media. However, the protection of the rights of Armenian citizens during foreign visits is always in the focus of the Armenian diplomatic services, and steps are being taken in accordance with the situation," the spokesperson of the Foreign Minister said.
The Ani Municipality, in turn, informed that the rumors circulating in the press that 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. In this regard, local media outlets referred to Bulgarian media.
Ani Municipality clarified 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 Armenian Embassy in Bulgaria is aware of what happened. The diplomatic structure will demonstrate consistency and give an appropriate assessment of 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.
