Friday, March 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

Russia faces severe sanctions over Ukraine: Joly

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Jan, 2022 11:08 AM
  • Russia faces severe sanctions over Ukraine: Joly

OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will join allies in imposing severe sanctions on Russian officials if the country takes further military action to compromise Ukrainian sovereignty.

Russia has positioned about 100,000 troops across Ukraine's borders along with tanks and other heavy artillery, stoking fears across Europe of an invasion, but Russia has denied it intends to do that.

"The recently launched diplomatic process offers Russia two options: they can choose meaningful dialogue, or … severe consequences," Joly said in Brussels on Thursday where she was meeting with her European Union counterpart Josep Borrell.

"We of course, appreciate the EU's collaboration on many deterrence measures, including economic ones. Canada will be ready to take additional measures, particularly with respect to the financial sector."

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine but that he will pay a "dear price" for that.

Joly and Borrell were pressed about whether they agreed Biden’s remark that a "minor incursion" by Russia would lead to a lesser response. Biden attempted to clarify the comment, saying he was referring to non-military action such as a cyberattack and that if Russia launched a military attack "that changes everything."

Borrell dismissed Biden’s phrasing as "nothing new" and said allies would respond in a way that would be "very costly for Russia."

"If there is any kind of aggression against Ukraine ... the warning of President Biden goes exactly the same direction in which we have been working," said Borrell. "A threat is a threat."

Joly referenced Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its fomenting of Russian separatist forces in Ukraine's eastern region, when she replied: "Let me be clear, first, Russia is already in Ukraine. We're talking about a real threat of a further invasion of Ukraine. So, in that sense, like my colleague just mentioned, a threat is a threat."

Joly is to meet later Thursday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as she is wrapping her three-country tour that has included stops in Ukraine and France.

Joly had nothing new to say about whether Canada would answer the requests of Ukraine to supply weapons and military hardware. She said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking at "a range of options" that are based on the information she is gathering this week.

Joly's trip is unfolding against a backdrop of other high-level meetings across Europe this week.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Berlin on Thursday for meetings with German, France and British officials, a group known as the Trans-Atlantic Quad that is playing a leading role in defusing the crisis.

Blinken has been invited to a meeting of the EU's foreign affairs council early next week, said a EU spokesman.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

NDP: Parliamentary conscience or party of power?

NDP: Parliamentary conscience or party of power?
Philippe Fournier of 338Canada.com says polls consistently show that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is more popular than either Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole. But he says the party must win over suburban voters and attract Liberals tired of the ruling party to stand a chance of forming government.

NDP: Parliamentary conscience or party of power?

Housing ministers meet as MPs probe price gains

Housing ministers meet as MPs probe price gains
The Opposition Conservatives say they plan to recommend a change in how home prices are captured in headline inflation figures, arguing the current readings underestimate the impact. The party's finance critic says there are options the country could consider to better reflect house price inflation in the consumer price index.

Housing ministers meet as MPs probe price gains

Surrey collision results in road closures Wednesday evening

Surrey collision results in road closures Wednesday evening
On Wednesday, January 19,  at 7:20 pm, Surrey RCMP responded to the report of a motor vehicle collision that involved a pedestrian at the intersection of 92 Avenue and King George Boulevard. The pedestrian suffered life threatening injuries and is currently being treated at a local hospital.

Surrey collision results in road closures Wednesday evening

Warning for photo-snapping drivers on B.C. highway

Warning for photo-snapping drivers on B.C. highway
 A key British Columbia highway has reopened to all traffic after being torn apart by disastrous flooding in November but it only took hours for the Transportation Ministry to issue a safety reminder.

Warning for photo-snapping drivers on B.C. highway

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's behavior deemed unethical after rocking chair tagged in Instagram post

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's behavior deemed unethical after rocking chair tagged in Instagram post
Monte Design had sent the rocking chair to GurKiran Kaur Sidhu as a payback for her Instagram post, and Singh tagging it on his Instagram page breaches laws set out in the Canadian Conflict of Interest Act.    

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's behavior deemed unethical after rocking chair tagged in Instagram post

2,387 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

2,387 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are currently 35,770 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 262,591 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 895 COVID-positive individuals are currently in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

2,387 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

PrevNext