The Gazette (Montreal)
October 19, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition

Armenian lauds Canada’s stance

OTTAWA

Countries such as Canada and France are standing up to Turkey’s
political "blackmail" through their recent decisions to recognize the
genocide of the Armenian people, Armenia’s foreign minister said
yesterday.

Vartan Oskanian also said if Turkey has any hope of attaining its
goal of joining the European Union, it too would have to acknowledge
the past violence of Ottoman Turks.

Oskanian offered that provocative assessment yesterday in an
interview before his meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter
MacKay in Ottawa.

The meeting was the first high-level interaction between Armenia and
Canada since the Harper government recognized as genocide the deaths
of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 during the bloody demise of the
Ottoman Empire, a decision that has angered Turkey.

Turkey’s Canadian embassy decided not to talk about Oskanian’s visit.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department would not confirm last week he
was to meet with MacKay even though details of the visit – his stay
at Rideau Gate, the official government guest house, a lunch with
three dozen parliamentarians and his meeting with MacKay – were
disclosed by the Armenian Embassy.