YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Canada will continue encouraging the recognition and acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide in international platforms, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today at a joint press conference with Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinyan.

“Here in Yerevan I had the chance to visit the genocide memorial. It was a very moving moment. The world must say to such crimes – never again. Canada has long recognized and acknowledged the genocide. Canada plays an important role around the world, namely in the direction of taking specific steps recently for decreasing the possibility of similar crimes. We will continue encouraging the recognition and acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide, because acknowledging the past is the first step on the path of creating peace and dialogue,” Trudeau said.

According to Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide solves two important issues.

“It is very important to note that the recognition of the genocide has two important meanings. First of all it brings its contribution to the global struggle against [genocides]. Because [even] in the 21st century [genocides] aren’t eliminated. For Armenia, this is also a security matter, because basically today we have a very clear danger of threats, because the border with Turkey is closed and we are blockaded. We also spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh issue during our discussions. It is very important to note in terms of what is the reason what the Karabakh issue originated, because sometimes an impression is created as if this is a territorial issue. It’s not, Armenians living in Artsakh faced a new genocide threat and people simply wanted and want to protect their right to live. The Karabakh conflict originated in conditions when the right to live faced concrete threats, because they had the 1915 genocide before their eyes,” Pashinyan said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan