Canada's Prime Minister Mark Karni held a meeting with Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia in Ottawa.
Modern.az reports, citing Armenian media, that a number of political issues were provocatively discussed at the meeting, including Armenia's sovereignty, the "return" of Armenians who left Karabakh, the “protection of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh”, and the “release of Armenians detained in Baku”.
The Canadian government's attention to these issues is assessed as a continuation of official Ottawa's policy in recent years. During the 44-day war, Canada adopted a pro-Armenian stance and banned the export of certain technological components used in “Bayraktar” UAVs to Turkey.
Furthermore, documents and initiatives against Azerbaijan have been put forward in the Canadian parliament at various times. This country has also supported the observation mission deployed by the European Union on Armenia's borders.
Mark Karni's raising of the issues of “Artsakh” and “Armenian prisoners” during the meeting with the Catholicos is considered a provocative act. Because the issue of the return of Armenians who voluntarily left Karabakh is already considered closed by Armenia's own leadership.
It should be noted that Canada's Foreign Minister, Melani Coli, has repeatedly made strong statements against Azerbaijan, demanding that Baku “create conditions for the return” of Armenians who left Karabakh. A few years ago, an initiative to recognize the former self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh regime” was put forward in the Canadian Senate, but this project was later rejected.
