Armenia supports Canada in the election of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council

On June 1, the second round of discussions between Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Canada Edward Nalbandian and Lawrence Cannon took place.

The two underlined the importance of organizing high-level visits, holding regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Canada had a detailed discussion on the issues included in the agenda of the G8 and Group of 20 Leaders Summit, to be held in Canada in June.

Edward Nalbandian informed about Armenia’s decision to support the candidacy of Canada in the elections of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The Ministers had comprehensive talks on the current issues  on international agenda and the ways of their settlement.

The next meeting of Edward Nalbandian was with Gary Goodyear, the Minister of State on Science and Technology of Canada.

The two discussed the possibilities of cooperation between Armenia and Canada in the area of science and technology.

They attached importance to the promotion of exchange of representatives and reached an agreement on the establishment of cooperation between the scientific and educational institutions of Armenia and Canada.

Minister Goodyear said that he would follow the promotion of establishing ties between the scientific and educational institutions and scientists of Armenia and Canada.

On the same day, Edward Nalbandian visited the Canadian Parliament where he attended the session of the House of Commons in the course of which the Speaker of the House welcomed the Foreign Minister of Armenia on MPs behalf.

The Armenian Foreign Minister was also hosted at the Carleton University where he delivered a lecture on Armenia’s foreign policy.

In his speech, the Armenian Foreign Minister presented the current stage of the Armenian-Canadian relations and their perspectives, the regional policy of Armenia, the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Touching upon the perspectives of settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) issue, the Foreign Minister of Armenia said. “The non-use of force or threat of force should not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations. War-mongering, bellicose rhetoric and hate speech of Azerbaijani leadership is not only a violation of one of the basic principles of international law, but also is in sharp contrast to its declared intention to care for the well-being of Nagorno-Karabagh population. You cannot promise to treat someone with favour, and at the same time threaten to kill them, if they disobey.

You can not find a solution to this conflict by bringing back the cause of the conflict as a solution mechanism. Today the Azerbaijani leadership has the illusion that the resolution of the conflict would mean to have the Azeri flag flying on Stepanakert, the capital city of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In reality, it was exactly because of that flag’s forceful imposition on Karabakh by Stalin in 1921 that became a cause for the conflict later on.”
Minister Nalbandian also answered the questions of diplomats, experts and students that attended the meeting.

Concluding his visit, Edward Nalbandian left for Yerevan.