An international conference on “Damascus: Prism of hope” organized by the Pontifical Oriental Institute was held in Rome.

The Armenian Embassy at the Holy See participated in the organization works. The conference was aimed at considering the problems existing in Syria and the Middle East from different perspectives.

Speeches were delivered by the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Leonardo Sandri, Armenia’s Ambassador to Vatican Mikayel Minasyan, representatives of different Christian churches and universities of the Middle East.

Addressing the conference, Armenian Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan said that “terrorists are trying to distort the cultural diversity in Syria.” He urged to struggle against such expressions of vandalism, indifference, the systematic destruction of Christian values in Syria, as it is impossible to imagine the Middle East without Christians.