Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues for raising this important issue, which is deeply impacting the security of the Caucasus and Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
We have heard from the Armenian community, which has members all across the country and certainly also in my own riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. My heart and my thoughts are with them.
Of course, my heart and my thoughts are with members of the Armenian community in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and across the country, as the situation in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Caucasus is extremely difficult.
We have been following this very closely, and we continue to call on Azerbaijan to stop the hostilities. The Lachin corridor must be reopened. There must be freedom of movement for humanitarian supplies and aid, and civilians must be protected.
We call on all parties involved in the 2020 ceasefire to fulfill their obligations. I raised this issue just this morning at the meeting of the OSCE and last week in the context of the UN General Assembly. I also raised the issue with the chair of the OSCE, North Macedonia, when I was in North Macedonia. I raised it with the president of the EU council, Charles Michel, when I was in Slovenia three weeks ago at the Bled convention, and I also raised it with Secretary Blinken last week.
This is an issue that is close to my heart and that is very important to the government. I have engaged with the government of Azerbaijan and with the government of Armenia, and later today I will be talking to my Armenian counterpart. Canada stands ready to continue supporting measures to stabilize the current situation as well as negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through the promotion of confidence-building measures around the principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity and self-determination.
We firmly support a comprehensive negotiated political solution. The European Union is playing an important role to foster peace, and Canada is proud to support its work. We will be deploying Canadian experts to join the EU mission to support peace and security in the region, and we are also increasing our presence in the region, as we announced last summer. This is in line with the recommendations made by Stéphane Dion, the special envoy to the Prime Minister on this issue. Just yesterday, we announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Armenia, Andrew Turner. Mr. Turner is a seasoned diplomat who has spent his career developing a deep understanding of the region and of the realities of the Armenian people. I look forward to working with him as we support Armenian democracy and the Armenian people.
In 2021 and 2022, Stéphane Dion, the Prime Minister's special envoy to the European Union and Europe, led a mission to explore options for Canada to better support Armenian democracy. His report, which was published in April 2022, contained 11 recommendations, including a recommendation that Canada continue to support Armenia's parliament and civil society. Since then, Canada has committed to establishing an embassy in Yerevan, which is now scheduled to open no later than the end of this year. Yesterday, we announced the name of our first ambassador to Armenia, Andrew Turner.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for the diligence and commitment undertaken in their work. I will also mention the report that was tabled in the spring regarding the situation in the Lachin corridor. I would also like to refer to the response to the committee's report that my team and I issued in June.
I will be pleased to answer all questions from my colleagues in the House, since the issue of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh is one that I am following very closely.