09:53,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan and his delegation held a meeting with Canadian Senator, member of the Canadian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Salma Ataullahjan within the framework of the IPU 147th Assembly.

Arshakyan lauded the friendly ties based on mutual respect and trust between Armenia and Canada ever since establishing diplomatic ties and appreciated the significant contribution of the Armenian community of Canada in strengthening bilateral cooperation, the parliament’s press service said in a readout.

The Deputy Speaker said that the opening of the Canadian embassy in Armenia is yet another important step in strengthening bilateral ties and that it can be considered as the result of the productive joint work of the governments of the two countries.

Arshakyan presented the situation resulting from the September 19 Azeri attack against Nagorno-Karabakh which has led to the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population.

Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy against Armenia’s territorial integrity resulting in the occupation of over 150 square km of Armenian territory was also discussed.

“Armenia has adopted an agenda of peace and expects the international community’s support in this issue,” Arshakyan said. He presented the idea of the Crossroads of Peace initiated by Armenia, stressing the importance of a roadmap for regional peace. A number of issues related to the regional situation and cooperation between the two countries were also discussed.

Members of Parliament Tsovinar Vardanyan and Arsen Torosyan are part of the Deputy Speaker’s delegation.