Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would begin by echoing the words of my colleague Mr. Oliphant, who spoke not only of the importance of having representation and having you present in Yerevan, Your Excellency, but also of the significance of opening a Canadian embassy in Yerevan. In my opinion, it has taken far too long for this to happen, but the embassy is finally open, and I'm very happy about that. I congratulate the government on finally going ahead and opening this embassy.
Your Excellency, I'm very happy to see you again. We've previously spent some time together, but it was only this morning that I learned you'd been a page in the House of Commons. I hesitate to ask if you were a page when I first became an MP.
Mr. Sinclair, thank you so much for being with us as well.
In December 2022, in violation of the ceasefire agreement reached after the 2020 war, Azerbaijan allowed, indeed organized, the blockade of the Latchine corridor, leading to famine among the Nagorno-Karabakh population. The unstated aim of this blockade was to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of its population.
Presumably considering that things weren't proceeding quickly enough, Azerbaijan decided to act, on September 19, by invading Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering an exodus of its population: over 100,000 inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh fled to Armenia. This led Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Bob Rae, to describe the situation as "a complete failure of global diplomacy in the face of ethnic cleansing."
I imagine the international community cannot remain indifferent and inactive in the face of an ethnic cleansing operation recognized as such by our permanent representative to the United Nations.
At a press conference, Minister Mélanie Joly, accompanied by her Armenian counterpart, explained that all options were on the table when it came to Azerbaijan.
What are those options, Your Excellency? Do they include possible sanctions?