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Romania is probably the state with the most advanced provisions regarding the Armenian community in terms of constitutional and legislative rights, the chairman of the Union of Armenians of Romania, Varujan Vosganian, said on Friday.
He participated in the opening of the exhibition "Armenia and Romania: 30 Years of Diplomatic Relations," organized at the Museum of Art Collections.
"I say that all over the world. Nowhere in the world do Armenians constitutionally and legislatively enjoy the protection they enjoy in Romania," Vosganian said.
He recalled that Romania was the first country, except for the former Soviet states, to recognize Armenia's independence. "Armenians from all over the world will never forget this sign of friendship of the Romanian state," he said, recalling his experience at the time, Agerpres.ro informs.
"30 years ago, during the independence referendum in Armenia in 1991, I was there, I was young and very enthusiastic, and I promised Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who was a kind of president of the country, of the interim council of the country, that Romania will be the first country to recognize the independence," said the chairman of the Armenian Union.
For his part, the Armenian Ambassador in Bucharest, Sergey Minasyan, said that the Romanian Parliament was one of the first parliaments of EU countries "that began and soon, in October 2018, finalized the ratification of the comprehensive and strengthened EU- Armenia partnership agreement".
"We appreciate Romania's balanced position on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the diplomat said. Moreover, he said that Armenians in the country are "an integral part of Romanian society."
Former President Emil Constantinescu said at the opening that the Institute of Advanced Studies for the Culture and Civilization of the Levant launched a project three years ago, called "History of Armenians in the History of Romania".
"I appeal to all researchers, historians. We have compiled the bibliography, made the contacts, and hope that in a few years we will publish a series of volumes that will gather all these testimonies of an exceptional contribution of the Armenian community throughout the century, of almost a millennium, to the construction of the Romanian culture and civilization," Constantinescu transmitted.
Former Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu stressed in this context that the relationship between the churches of the two states "is an extra bridge that will always exist between us".
The anniversary exhibition is organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Romania, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, the National Museum of Art of Romania and the Union of Armenians of Romania.
