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Canada has a more even-handed role to play in the South Caucasus
By Robert M. Cutler January 13, 2021
Canada has a great potential to contribute to the human security of both sides, but it is unlikely to have any considerable role in the region in the absence of a broad dialogue with Azerbaijan.
Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne is pictured in Ottawa in July 2020. Given Canada’s symbolic significance as a ‘middle-power’ interlocutor and the diplomatic prestige of the Canadian ‘brand,’ perhaps the greatest contribution that Ottawa could make would be to encourage the leadership in Yerevan to assume a rational and realistic approach in dealing with its neighbours, writes Robert M. Cutler. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Canada could play an extremely constructive role in the post-conflict situation in the South Caucasus. There have been regular conversations between Canadian and Armenian authorities and with the Armenian community in Canada during the course of the military conflict. However, it seems possible that there was only one such meeting with Azerbaijani representatives, that was not very well appreciated by the Armenian community in Canada.
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