YEREVAN – Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Armenia to participate in the European Political Community summit, which focuses on political cooperation, security, and infrastructure.
Canada is making history as the first non-European nation to join these meetings, which have been held twice yearly since their inception following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The gatherings feature EU member states along with others like Iceland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that this trip will center around bolstering Ukraine’s defense while fostering increased trade and investment throughout Europe.
Carney will stay in Yerevan until Monday and plans to engage in bilateral talks with various global leaders during the summit, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.
He’ll also be part of a trilateral meeting involving European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is accompanying the prime minister on this trip.
Jean-François Ratelle, a professor specializing in international studies at the University of Ottawa with a focus on the Caucasus region, expressed disappointment that this visit doesn’t seem aimed at continuing Canada’s longstanding support for democracy and peace in Armenia.
“We are witnessing a complete change of our foreign policy, and what are our general interests,” Ratelle told The Canadian Press.
“It’s looking for our own interests and our own opportunities, and not playing that leading role in norms, and what used to define Canada.”
The news release from the prime minister’s office regarding this trip didn’t mention recent events related to the Caucasus region. The previous Trudeau administration intervened multiple times regarding ethnic conflicts there while showing consistent support for Canada’s Armenian diaspora.
Since the Soviet Union fell apart, Armenia and Azerbaijan have clashed over control of Nagorno-Karabakh. Canada alongside other nations recognizes this area as part of Azerbaijan despite its largely ethnic Armenian population.
This conflict has reignited at various moments especially after Russian peacekeepers reduced their presence following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Azerbaijan restricted access to Nagorno-Karabakh and eventually initiated a military campaign against separatist factions leading to over 100,000 people evacuating in 2023-just when Canada opened its embassy in Yerevan.
Canada has condemned Azerbaijan’s actions by joining an EU security mission. At one point it even paused military exports to Turkey amid concerns about Canadian components being sent to Azerbaijan for use in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ottawa had also sought ways to support what it called “fragile” democracies within former Soviet territories like Armenia through efforts aimed at countering misinformation among other initiatives.
Ratelle noted that such efforts have significantly diminished since Carney assumed office with little visible activity from the embassy located in Yerevan geared towards promoting democracy.
Carney mentioned on Wednesday that he had never visited Armenia before. Justin Trudeau was the last prime minister to travel there during the Francophonie summit back in 2018.
This weekend’s visit comes as Canada seeks to strengthen trade relations with countries like Turkey where Carney is expected at an upcoming NATO summit set for July.
Ahead of that journey Anand along with others participated in events commemorating the Armenian genocide-a term Turkey disputes vehemently.
Achim Hurrelmann co-director at Carleton University’s Centre for European Studies suggested that Carney appears focused on pursuing defense procurement agreements with Europe through his attendance at this conference.
“My guess is that he is primarily interested in the opportunity to meet EU leaders, and leaders from especially Ukraine and the U. K., all at once, to try to move toward implementing some of the common initiatives that have been launched with the European Union.”
