15:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Possible sanctions against Azerbaijan are now on the table and Canada is closely following the developments in South Caucasus, expecting Armenia’s territorial integrity to be respected, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

“When it comes to sanctions, I’ve answered that question already, I said that everything is on the table, that being said, we expect that Armenia’s territorial integrity be respected, and for us this is definitely something that we are watching,” Joly said when asked whether Canada considers sanctions against Azerbaijan.

“Canada commends Armenia’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability within the region. But we all agree that more needs to be done. As part of our continued work, Canada calls for the full respect of the territorial integrity of Armenia and reaffirms the importance of the strict adherence to the principle of the non-use of force and threat of use of force. Canada also calls on the Azerbaijani government for the respect of the right of return of the recently displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and to show good faith in facilitating the restoration of unimpeded humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh for the safe return of ethnic Armenians,” the Canadian FM said.

Joly said Canada is working with partners to mitigate the impact of the “unjustifiable military action" on civilians.

Later on Wednesday, Joly will attend the opening of the Canadian embassy in Yerevan.

On October 26, she will visit Jermuk to become acquainted with the situation and meet forcibly displaced families.

Joly said that Canada is increasing its humanitarian assistance for the displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh to a total of 3,9 million dollars. This includes an additional 1 million dollars to the UNHCR and 2,5 million dollars to the ICRC to help meet the needs of the forcibly displaced persons of NK.