The National Assembly group, which recently conducted a fact-finding tour to Syria, held on Tuesday a news conference to share 
impressions of the meetings with the local Armenians.
They said the visit a private initiative to study the situation of the Armenians in the warn-torn country and offer support to the Kessab Armenians who have been evacuated to Latakia after recent militant attacks. They thanked Arman Sahakyan, an MP from the ruling Republican faction, for financing the trip.
“Our purpose was to go and see the events there with our own eyes. It was very hard to remain unmoved by watching them,” said Tevan Poghosyan, an opposition MP from the Heritage party.
“It is more than a year there had been no state visit from Armenia to Syria. Our main purpose was to see our compatriots, but because there was an invitation by the Syrian authorities, it would have been wrong not to go to meet with them,” he added.
Edmon Marukyan, a cross-bencher who was also in the delegation, said the Armenians who have found a refuge in Latakia’s Holy Virgin church had heard from community members maintaining a military vigil in Kessab that the militants had been joined by Turkish rebels.
“With the help of the Syrian Army, the Kessab residents were moved to Latakia. Some 320 families in Latakia’s Holy Virgin church now benefit from the aid and food offered. Our compatriots clearly understand that they will not see their houses upon return. That’s why they requested that Armenia and the Armenians around the world help them to restore their economy,” Marukyan said, adding that they have reports that the houses in the Armenian-populated town have been completely looted.
“This was a proof that nothing has changed ahead of the [the Armenian] Genocide centennial. There is only a change in the methods: Internet, Facebook etc,” he added.
Artak Shakaryan, a turkologist also attending the news conference, said the Turks are still guiding themselves by the false justification that Kessab belongs to them instead of Syria.
“Kessab actually is the only part on the Turkish-Syrian border that wasn’t under militants’ control, but it was, sooner or later, to come under their surveillance. They were logically expected to seize Latakia to reach Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but to get to Latakia they had to seize Kessab,” he explained.
The expert further warned against any attempts of overexaggerating the situation.
“I call for being vigilant, as Kessab may remain an apple of discord between two states in the months to come,” he added.