A significant portion of the Diaspora are descendants of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. They had to flee, seek refuge, and manage to sustain their lives far from this place; therefore, many in the Diaspora believe they want to see a larger Armenia, a historical Armenia, an Armenia that had a glorious and rich past, but is now already a dream rather than the real Armenia. This was stated by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during the “Yerevan Dialogue” forum, responding to a question about how important the Diaspora’s opinion is when Armenia makes decisions and to what extent their views are taken into account.
“Today, we in the Republic of Armenia live in this specific region, we live in this region with these particular neighbors, and we do not want to spend our next decade, our next century, our next millennium fighting with our neighbors, suffering greater casualties on the battlefield, incurring further losses, [having people] who will flee the battlefield, seek asylum, and find solutions in other countries. In this sense, the views and needs of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia may differ from the needs of those in the Diaspora.
This is an interesting and important issue that we must discuss in depth and understand thoroughly, and certainly find a solution. I am more than confident that this solution is emerging, and I am noticing more and more signals from Diaspora Armenians that they are beginning to understand what this real Republic of Armenia needs, and we are hearing more supportive voices from the Diaspora,” he said.
