(Ottawa) Canada follows through on its threat and hits Russia with economic sanctions. It is also improving its contribution to NATO, in particular by sending up to 460 members of the Armed Forces to Latvia to swell the ranks of the Reassurance mission.
Posted at 5:06 p.m.
The Canadian Prime Minister detailed the sanctions during a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, along with three ministers: Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance), Mélanie Joly (Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Anita Anand (Minister of National Defence).
“Canada condemns the recognition by the President [Vladimir] Putin of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent territories. This recognition is a violation of Russia’s obligations under international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” he said at the outset.
“Make no mistake: this is a new invasion of a sovereign state,” insisted Prime Minister Trudeau, accusing the strongman of the Kremlin of having delivered a speech full of inaccuracies and “dangerous disinformation” on Monday.
In response to these “brazen provocations”, and “in coordination with allies and like-minded partners”, Canada has decided to slap Russia with a “first set of economic sanctions” which will remain in place “until that the territorial integrity of Ukraine be restored,” he said.
The government will ban Canadian citizens from any financial transactions with the pro-Russian separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk and will sanction members of the Russian parliament who voted for the illegal decision to recognize these “so-called republics”, argued Justin Trudeau.
Canadians will also be prohibited “from participating in purchases of Russian sovereign debt”, and Ottawa “will impose additional sanctions against Russian state-backed banks, and prohibit all financial transactions with them”, he said. he continued.
Enhanced contribution to NATO
In addition to punishing Moscow, the Canadian government is sending reinforcements to Latvia, where it is already taking part in NATO’s Reassurance mission. The Prime Minister authorized Tuesday the deployment of “a maximum of 460” members of the Canadian Armed Forces in this Baltic country which shares a border with Russia.
“We are also strengthening our support for NATO. Canada is committed to providing significant additional medical, air, naval and land capabilities to the NATO Response Force,” continued the Prime Minister.
At his side, Minister Freeland pleaded that all these measures were not aimed at the Russian people, but at President Putin and his entourage. The Ukrainian-rooted politician reiterated that “autocrats” have their eyes on the West’s response to the Kremlin’s actions.
Russian ambassador summoned
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, for her part, reported that the Canadian government had summoned the head of mission from Moscow to Ottawa, Oleg Stepanov.
“I have asked my deputy minister to summon the Russian ambassador to demand an explanation for Russia’s continued aggression, violation of international law and disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty,” she said. wrote on Twitter.
The chief diplomat of Canada has also multiplied the calls with her G7 counterparts, including the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and Germany.
Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced the establishment of diplomatic ties with the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk on Tuesday, after recognizing their independence the day before.
At the White House on Tuesday afternoon, United States President Joe Biden announced the imposition of economic sanctions against Moscow. The country will no longer have access to Western financing, and two banking institutions have been sanctioned, the American leader said at a press conference.