(Ottawa) Melanie Jolie vows Canada “will not succumb to Russian propaganda” during G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia.
Posted at 2:28 pm.
Canada’s diplomatic chief is heading to Bali, where he will meet his counterparts from the G20, the economic group.
Among his vis-à-vis will be Russia’s Sergey Lavrov.
“It’s not true that I’m going to find myself in the same room as Sergey Lavrov at the G20,” Minister Jolie began last March.
Despite her, she still chose to travel.
Because his presence is “an opportunity to directly confront the disinformation of representatives of the Russian regime, which is now expected in such multilateral forums,” it was written in a press release announcing his presence at the summit.
“Canada must stand up to expose Russia’s lies and, with like-minded partners, present solutions to counter Russia’s food weaponization. […] Minister Joly said in the same press release.
Last April, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors walked out of a meeting in Washington when Russia’s finance minister, Anton Silouanov, almost wanted to intervene.
Among those taking part in the boycott were Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.
Heads up
The meeting is a preview of the G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held in November.
In late March, US President Joe Biden called for Russia’s expulsion from the G20.
For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t go that far, but he did express his discomfort.
“It can’t be business as usual. With Russia around the table, it’s going to be a big issue for many countries, including Canada. I don’t think we can sit around the table with Russia,” he said.
In the same breath, he could not stress the irony that Vladimir Putin’s regime, wreaking havoc on the global economy, has found its place within a group whose mission is to find ways to promote economic growth.
