Armenian News- NEWS.am has learned that the newly appointed ambassador of Canada to Armenia, Andrew Turner, arrived in Yerevan Wednesday, although it was officially announced that his visit is scheduled for next month.

According to our source, before the official opening ceremony of the Canadian embassy in Armenia, which will most likely take place in October, Turner has started closed meetings with the political circles in Armenia.

Andrew Turner will be Canada's first resident ambassador to Armenia. Until now, there was solely a Canadian consulate in Yerevan, and Armenian citizens had to apply to the Canadian embassy in Moscow to get Canadian visas.

On June 29, 2022, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly had announced the opening of Canada's embassy in Armenia. According to her, the establishment of this diplomatic mission in Armenia will enable establishing strong ties between the two countries and increase Canada's assistance to the development of Armenia’s democracy.

Meanwhile, the international media note that the appointment of the resident Canadian ambassador to Armenia takes place at the phase of the escalation of the military conflict with Azerbaijan. A source at The Canadian Press emphasized that this comes as the Liberals try to form closer ties with “countries moving away from Russia's orbit.”

Prior to his aforesaid appointment, Ambassador Andrew Turner has served in Canadian diplomatic missions to Saudi Arabia (2004-2007), Syria (2011-2012), Afghanistan (2013-2015), Pakistan (2015-2017) and Iraq (2017-2019). And most recently, he served as deputy director and director for Eastern Europe and Eurasia.