Many of the leaders Carney is hoping to meet in Yerevan are from countries represented in the European Parliament, which this week triggered a diplomatic row with Azerbaijan by passing a resolution that included calls for the right of return to Armenians who fled Karabakh, as well as the release of political prisoners held by Baku.
In the midst of an election campaign, and while trying to mend fences with Azerbaijan during a fragile peace process, Pashinyan has largely avoided commenting publicly on those issues, or on the destruction of an Armenian church in Karabakh — the latest such incident. But Waters said that silence should not stop Canada from speaking out.
“Canada could be acting to pressure Azerbaijan as an honest broker in the region,” he said.
“There are certain areas in which it’s very difficult for Canada or like-minded states to intervene politically.” Waters pointed, in particular, to border disputes between the two countries. “Those are state-to-state things that need to be worked out between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
But Waters says humanitarian concerns and calls to protect cultural heritage should not be considered intervention.
“There are humanitarian steps that can be taken multilaterally, bilaterally, sometimes loudly,” he said.
Canada called for the release of political prisoners both last summer and under Trudeau, along with the right of return for refugees. But the Canadian government also faced criticism during the 2020 war over parts manufactured in Ontario that allegedly ended up in Turkish drones later sold to Azerbaijan and seen as crucial on the battlefield.
Turkey and Azerbaijan denied the allegation, though it did prompt Canada to temporarily suspend military exports to Turkey.
In a more recent regional development, the Armenian government last year arrested multiple religious figures it accused of plotting a coup against Pashinyan, including Bagrat Galstanyan, a cleric with Canadian citizenship affiliated with one of the opposition parties running against him. At the time, Global Affairs told CBC News it was in contact with local authorities but has not provided further details, citing privacy concerns.
Opportunity for more defence ties, experts say
Defence and military experts said Canada could also look to deepen engagement with the Armenian military.
Alan Whitehorn, a professor emeritus at the Royal Military College in Kingston, said Canadian educators could work with Armenian military academies to support modernization.
“First of all, we’re a respected middle power. And secondly, I think we have a good military educational system, particularly at the senior levels for the military colleges. And I think it’s a good role model for Armenia,” he said.
Armenia is part of NATO’s Defence Education Enhancement Programme, or DEEP, which is designed for non-member countries, “providing tailored practical support … in developing and reforming their professional military educational institutions.”
Whitehorn said Canada already works with Armenia through DEEP, but could also pursue a more direct bilateral relationship.
Meanwhile, the fact that Armenia is hosting the summit at all is itself a sign of the country’s drift away from Russia, said Robert Huebert of the University of Calgary.
“It’s … a message to Putin that his threats, that he keeps threatening NATO, saying you can’t come close to my border. And I think that this is a means of saying we can go where we want.”
“I think it’s also in an effort to show Putin that we’ve got major interest here. If people want to make common cause with us, we will recognize that.”