(Ottawa) Canada has imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia’s media industry in an effort to disrupt what it says is a disinformation campaign about the war in Ukraine.
Posted at 4:59 p.m.
Ottawa also imposed sanctions on the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, who spoke out in favor of war. In particular, he asserted that the conflict is of “metaphysical importance”.
Mr. Gundyayev has a lot of influence in Russia and its diaspora, in addition to being particularly admired by President Vladimir Putin.
The religious man stressed that it is a “truth from God” that the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia have a common heritage that should be united.
Canadian sanctions also target Russian news agencies, television stations and journalists, including Petr Akopov, who wrote approvingly about President Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine, and Tigran Keosayan, a newscaster pro-Kremlin TV station.
The sanctions come as Ottawa launched a webpage correcting misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine and countering it with facts.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that the site will be continually updated to “shed light on how the Russian regime is using lies to justify its illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.”
The new wave of sanctions came as Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told a meeting of G20 countries that the world “will not accept Russia’s false narrative”.
During a meeting of several Foreign Ministers in Bali, Indonesia, Minister Joly mentioned that it was “shocking” to hear Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov making “propaganda to justify the invasion of his neighbor sovereign”, while Russia “kills, rapes women and men and tortures citizens” of Ukraine.
Mr. Lavrov was present at the meeting.
“We will not let Russia get away with this food crisis which is their fault,” added Mr.me Pretty. Canada clearly rejects Russia’s assertion that economic sanctions are to blame. This is not the case. Basically, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has damaged global food supply chains. »
While in Indonesia, Mr.me Joly spoke with her G7 counterparts about the war in Ukraine, taking the initiative to expose Russian misinformation.
PHOTO SIGID KURNIAWAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The new wave of sanctions came as Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told a meeting of G20 countries that the world “will not accept Russia’s false narrative”.
She also met on Friday on the sidelines of the G20, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The impact of the war in Ukraine and the global food crisis were among the topics discussed.
This meeting will be considered by some as a moment of calm in the tense diplomatic relations between the two countries, after the release last year of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, detained in China for more than 1,000 days.
Mme Joly also met with Mr. Wang in April in Germany, and the two ministers had agreed to keep communication channels open.
Among the 29 people on the latest sanctions list is also Vladimir Sungorkin, editor-in-chief of Komsomolskaya Pravda, described by President Putin as his favorite newspaper.
Russian broadcaster RT has already been banned from the Canadian airwaves after ministers accused it of broadcasting Kremlin-inspired propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine.
But the latest round of sanctions hits RT directly as well as Russian broadcasters Sputnik, Channel One Russia and the All-Russian State Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VGTRK), whose chief executive, Oleg Dobrodeev, is also sanctioned.
The long-established Russian news agency TASS is also on the latest list, along with Gazprom Media, which owns a series of television and radio stations.
The new sanctions list also includes Russian author and journalist Yevgeniy Prilepin, TV host and documentary filmmaker Arkady Mamontov as well as Irina Volk, a well-known spokeswoman for the Russian ministry.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,150 individuals and organizations in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
He has coordinated sanctions with European Union allies as well as the United States and the United Kingdom to prevent the Russians from exploiting loopholes.
Global Affairs Canada explains that the new wave of sanctions against Russia targets “agents of state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda”.
In March, M.me Joly had joined many others in leaving a United Nations meeting in Geneva when Mr. Lavrov, whom Canada had sanctioned a few days earlier, spoke.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at the G7 Summit last month, Canada has also banned some gold imports from Russia.
The measure is intended to prevent Russians from converting cash into gold to circumvent other economic sanctions.