ArmeniaNow The Armenian government has approved financial aid of $500,000 to Japan in a symbolic gesture to help the nation that is now grappling with the horrendous consequences of last month’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

“We are performing our moral duty,” Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan told the Cabinet on Thursday, describing the move as “a political action” which has “a primarily moral component, in terms of demonstrating our people’s attitude.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said Armenia was ready to send a team of rescuers to Japan immediately, but the government of Japan preferred financial assistance.

More than 12,500 people have been killed and some 15,000 are missing after a powerful earthquake that struck north-eastern Japan on March 11.

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that triggered a ferocious tsunami caused vast destruction and left tens of thousands of people without permanent shelter. It also caused damage and resulted in a radioactive leakage at one of Japan’s nuke stations with lingering fears about a larger-scale nuclear disaster.

The Armenian government emphasized that Japan was one of the first countries to stretch out a helping hand to Armenia after the December 1988 earthquake in the country’s northern provinces that killed some 25,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Japan has also been one of Armenia’s major foreign donors since independence.