During her visit to Yerevan, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly took part in the official opening ceremony of the Canadian Embassy in Armenia on 25 October.
“Today is a very good day,” she said as she raised the Canadian flag outside the embassy.
As part of her visit, she met with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, and also held a meeting and press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“We came to you during a period that, as we know, is quite difficult for Armenia. We followed the events of 19-20 September, and, of course, our goal is to help Armenia in this difficult situation, as well as to help make the region more peaceful and stable. We do this, first of all, by participating in the EU mission. We are the only country that is not a member of the EU but participates in the EU mission. This is the first step towards ensuring a greater presence in Armenia,” Mélanie Joly reports the words of the press service of the Prime Minister of Armenia.
The minister also announced that she would visit the south of Armenia, where she would meet with local authorities and internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The issue of possible sanctions against Azerbaijan is now on the table. Canada highly appreciates Armenia's efforts to strengthen peace and stability in the South Caucasus. We all agree that more needs to be done. Canada calls on Azerbaijan to respect the territorial integrity of Armenia and reaffirms the importance of respecting the principle of non-use of force and the threat of force,” Joly said at a press conference.
She said Canada also expects the Azerbaijani government to respect the right of return of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and ensure their safety and access to humanitarian support.
“We are constantly working with our partners to mitigate the consequences of Azerbaijan’s unjustified military operation against civilians, especially since the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have been under an illegal blockade for months,” the minister said.
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