Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, during a meeting today in Baghdad with representatives of the local Armenian community, said that successive Iraqi governments have allowed Armenians to live and work in the country as full citizens.

Khachaturyan, addressing those attending the meeting as “loyal” Iraqi citizens, said they are a natural bridge linking the governments of Armenia and Iraq.

Khachaturyan, seated next to Bishop Oshagan Gulgulian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Iraq, said the church has played a pivotal role in maintaining Armenian identity in the absence of an Armenian political state.

Khachaturyan arrived in Baghdad on February 26 and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani to discuss expanded cooperation between the two countries.