Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has welcomed a recent joint statement by Ankara and Yerevan that outlined the next steps toward normalizing their relationship.
The two countries, which have no diplomatic ties and a history of animosity stemming from the killings of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I, announced late on Monday that they plan to sign two protocols within six weeks under a plan to end a century of hostility.
“The normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations will not only benefit both nations and their citizens but also enhance stability, security and development within their turbulent and vital neighborhood,” said Minister Cannon. The statement also noted that Cannon had recently met with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davuto№ lu, in нstanbul, where he stressed the importance of dialogue between Turkey and Armenia. In 2004, Canada’s Parliament recognized the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I as genocide. Much to Turkey’s ire, a number of other countries have also endorsed Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed in what was genocide, from 1915 to 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart. Turkey rejects the genocide label and says
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
