On Feb 23 the Beirut-based Armenian Surb Nshan Church held a service to commemorate the Sumgait massacre victims and Gurgen Margaryan, who was brutally killed by Azeri officer Ramil Safarov in Budapest.
Armenia's Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot Kocharyan said that the pogroms of the Armenian population committed in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, 26 years ago were the first manifestation of ethnic cleansings in the then Soviet Union.
"Today we pay our tribute to the innocent victims. We hope that Azerbaijan's crimes will be adequately assessed and condemned by the international community", said Kocharyan.
To note, the victims of the Sumgait massacre have also been commemorated in Washington.