The Regional Studies Center (RSC) was cited in Global Post article, “Christians from Syria and Egypt seek refuge in the Caucasus,” by Nicholas Clayton, published on 27 July 2013.
Excerpts:
Christian minorities from both Egypt and Syria are starting to look to the South Caucasus countries of Georgia and Armenia as a refuge from violence and uncertainly. Armenia has gone as far as announcing the creation of “New Aleppo” — a housing development outside the capital Yerevan that has reportedly drawn interest from 600 Syrian Armenian families.
.More than 7,000 Syrian Armenians have already expressed the desire to relocate to Armenia, according to the Armenian government, which sees the possible immigrants as a potential boost to a stagnant economy and population fall.…..Like the Copts in Egypt, Syrian Armenians have long been supporters of the secular government of President Bashar al-Assad. Many fear retribution from rebels should the civil war drag on or if Assad falls.
Yerevan has gone as far as to offer passports to Syrians with Armenian heritage at its consulates in Syria. But Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center (RSC), says that Armenia’s sluggish economy and endemic corruption make it an unattractive destination for its worldwide diaspora — even for those fleeing war. “Despite the apparent urgency of the crisis for Armenians in Syria, Armenia remains a remote and distant focus,” Giragosian wrote in Oxford Analytica in December. “Even some of those now coming to Yerevan may be only treating it as a temporary refuge.”