Francois Hollande

Monday, November 17, 2014

Monday November 17, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday, November 17, 2014

Stephen Harper at G20 tells Vladimir Putin to ‘get out of Ukraine’

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has earned some love from the Australian media for his dustup with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the first day of the Group of 20 summit.

All-news networks and Australia’s Sunday Mail reported on the prime minister’s bold admonishment to Putin to “get out of Ukraine” at a private leaders’ retreat ahead of the official opening of the summit earlier this weekend.

“Handshake came with a slapdown for Russian leader,” read the headline of the Sunday Mail piece. It featured a photo of a beaver chomping on the Russian flag.

Australia’s Business Insider also reported that Harper showed Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott “how to shirtfront the Russian president.” Shirtfront is an Australian expression for smack down.

Harper’s spokesman, Jason MacDonald, said the prime minister was speaking to a group of G20 leaders at the retreat when Putin approached and extended his hand.

MacDonald said Harper told Putin: “I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine.”

According to MacDonald, Putin did not respond positively. He didn’t provide further details. (Source: CBC News)

SOCIAL MEDIA

This cartoon was posted at iPolitics.


 

 

Tuesday June 18, 2013

Tuesday June 18, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 18, 2013

‘Thugs’ vs. cannibals as Putin and Harper Trade Barbs

This week’s G8 summit at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, got off to the worst possible start as talks between the two leaders immediately stalled.

Putin refused to stop providing arms to Bashar al-Assad and rebuked Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama for aiding the rebels fighting the Syrian leader.

“You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras,” Putin said at a press conference. “Are these the people you want to support?”

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was equally blunt ahead of the G8 meeting, saying that Putin, Assad’s only big-power ally at the G8 table, was supporting thugs.

“We are not, unless there is a big shift in position on his part, going to get a common position with him at the G8.”

The United States said last week it would step up military aid to Syrian rebels — a move which officials said would involve supplying the Western-backed Supreme Military Council with automatic weapons, light mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

The European Union has also dropped its arms embargo on Syria, allowing France and Britain to arm the rebels, though the two countries say they have no immediate plans to do so. (Source: The National Post)