June 12, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement after meeting with Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants:
“In my meeting with Minister Bassil, I expressed Canada’s commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East and underscored Canada’s determination to fight terrorism. I also reiterated Canada’s strong support for Israel’s right to exist, to live peacefully with its neighbours and to defend itself, by itself.
“In a region where ISIS [the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] runs rampant, where Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism breeds instability, and where the brutality of the Assad regime’s war against its own people continues, Canada unabashedly stands with those who share our values. This includes those in Lebanon who share the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“There are many areas of mutual agreement between Canada and Lebanon, including Canada’s thriving Lebanese-Canadian community and our desire to strengthen pluralism, religious freedom and economic prosperity. We discussed the enormous humanitarian pressures on Lebanon as a direct result of the conflict in Syria and the continued need to assist over 1.2 million refugees inside Lebanon on whom ISIS, Hezbollah and the Assad regime have inflicted so much devastation.”
Johanna Quinney
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
johanna.quinney@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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