Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry argues Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is undermining peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by referring to the area as Artsakh, CTV News reports.
Last Saturday, during a speech to at the Armenian Community Centre of Montreal, Joly referred to the region as Artsakh.
In part of the speech posted on social media, Joly is seen saying that she plans to raise the Nagorno-Karabakh situation in upcoming summits held by the G20, G7 and United Nations.
“The region, and particularly Armenians, are facing a real threat in Artsakh,” Joly said. “We need to bring this issue of Artsakh at every single diplomatic table we have access to.”
In a Wednesday statement, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry argues Joly is making “one-sided statements,” noting that “such statements (by) Canada do nothing to serve the peace and stability in the region, and are unacceptable.”
Earlier this month, Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos referred to the Republic of Artsakh in an open letter congratulating a politician for his election as speaker to the breakaway region’s national assembly.
Canada is planning to send two officials to support a European monitoring mission that is aiming to prevent another war in the region.
