Ara says the goal of the initiative is to make a call for peace to the world.
“I wanted to run for peace because I was tired of hearing about wars from all sides of the world. France adopted me in 1983 when I left Lebanon. Armenia is my homeland, I wanted to connect these two countries with each other with my run,” he said in Republic Square, Yerevan.
Khatchadourian says he wanted to realize this initiative two years ago, but his plans got delayed due to certain reasons. He says he has no regrets now.
“2018 turned out to be very symbolic because it coincided with the 100th anniversary of the First Armenian Republic’s independence and the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan. I came to also convey my congratulations to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for carrying out the peaceful revolution,” he said.
The Run For Peace initiative was organized by the AGBU. Khatchadourian passed through Europe, reached Turkey, where he was planning to give a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the general elections in the country obstructed his initiative.
“I spent the longest period of time in Turkey, my run comprised 2000 km and 45 days there. I was in Turkey during the elections and I didn’t know if Erdogan would be re-elected, but next time I must definitely give the letter to him. I wrote in the letter that they should [recognize] the Armenian Genocide, and it was this very letter that gave me the idea to run to...
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