Vladimir Putin – Page 20

Friday August 8, 2014

August 8, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 8, 2014

Russia retaliates after Canada imposes fresh sanctions, travel bans

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered restrictions on food imports to strike back at the U.S. and other countries that have imposed sanctions over the turmoil in Ukraine.

The move came on the same day that Prime Minister Stephen Harper imposed fresh economic sanctions and travel bans on some Russian and Ukrainian individuals and groups.

The impact of Putin’s move on Canadian agricultural exports to Russia was not immediately known.

Canada exported $1.7 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2012, led by exports of food, including pork and crustaceans, according to a government of Canada report.

The Canadian Pork Council said it was monitoring the situation closely Wednesday.

Russia was expected to release a list of restricted or banned goods on Thursday.

The Canadian sanctions and bans come amid reports that Russia is massing thousands of troops along the Ukrainian border.

The Canadian measures, aimed at some 19 people and 22 groups and banks, are similar to those imposed by the European Union and the United States a week earlier and come on top of previous sanctions by Canada.

Putin retaliated Wednesday by issuing an order that bans or restricts for a year the importation of agricultural produce, raw materials and food from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia.

Russia was Canada’s 18th largest export destination in 2012, according to a federal government report called “Canadian Trade and Investment Activity: Canada-Russia.”

Russia is the third-largest market for Canadian pork exports, after China and the U.S.

Canadian pork producers, who have shipped $213 million worth of pork to Russia so far this year, said they’re monitoring events in Russia closely. (Source: Toronto Star)

This cartoon was posted to iPolitics.com.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

May 21, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday, May 22, 2014

Prince Charles likens Vladimir Putin to Hitler, woman says

The royal visit to Canada has made headlines in Britain’s Daily Mail and other British media for what has been reported as a remark in which Prince Charles likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler when talking to a woman who lost relatives in the Holocaust.

The Daily Mail says Charles made the comment during a visit Monday to the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax.

The newspaper reports museum volunteer Marienne Ferguson as saying her Jewish family fled to Canada from Poland when she was young, but that other relatives failed to flee before the German army arrived in Gdansk in 1939.

It quotes Ferguson as saying she told Charles about her family background and how she came to Canada, and that Charles then said to her: “‘And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler,'” referring to the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine.

The BBC reached Ferguson in Halifax. She told the British media outlet that it was “just a little remark. I didn’t think it was going to make such a big uproar.”

Headlines in the United Kingdom have accused the unelected heir to the throne of inappropriately wading in to international politics.

Speaking to the BBC, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg defended the prince over his comments, saying it was “clearly a private conversation.”

A spokesperson from Clarence House, the press office for the Royal Family, told CBC News it does not comment on private conversations.

“But we would like to stress that The Prince of Wales would not seek to make a public political statement during a private conversation,” read a statement from Clarence House.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Prime Minister’s Office won’t comment on remarks made during a private conversation.

“That said, we have been clear that the Putin regime’s illegal occupation of Ukraine and its persistent military aggression are a return to Soviet-style tactics and cannot be tolerated,” spokesman Jason MacDonald said in an email.

“We will continue to work with our allies to apply pressure on Russia until they de-escalate.”

Tensions have grown between Putin and the West since Russia’s annexation of Crimea earlier this year.

Prince Charles is due to meet the Russian president for D-Day anniversary commemorations next month.

Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Canada from 17 Wing Canadian Forces Base in Winnipeg on Wednesday night. (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday March 25, 2014

March 25, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 25, 2014

G7 leaders agree to abandon Sochi summit, will hold June meeting in Brussels

G7 Leaders agreed Monday to hold their own summit in Brussels, abandoning plans for a scheduled G8 summit with Russia in Sochi amid political turmoil in Ukraine.

In a joint statement, Western nations and Japan said it will “suspend” its participation in the G8 until Russia “changes course,” and that they will meet in G7 “format” for the summit in Brussels.

The decision comes as G7 leaders held an emergency session in The Hague to discuss what to do about Russia in light of the ongoing crisis in eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his G7 counterparts to expel Russian President Vladimir Putin from the G8 due Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea and its aggression toward Ukraine.

Earlier, Harper said discussions on Russia will have to be made a priority over economic concerns.

Harper and his fellow G7 leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, gathered at the official residence of the Dutch Prime Minister.

A Russia-European summit that was scheduled for June 3 in Sochi was previously cancelled. (Source: CTV News)

CONTEXT – U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, West Germany, June 12, 1987:

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

March 19, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Harper blasts Crimea referendum, protesters express solidarity with Ukraine

Canada has denounced the controversial referendum in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula on Sunday that showed overwhelming support to split off and join Russia, saying it would lead to further isolation of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“The so-called referendum held today was conducted with Crimea under illegal military occupation. Its results are a reflection of nothing more than Russian military control,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement.

“This ‘referendum’ is illegitimate, it has no legal effect, and we do not recognize its outcome,” the prime minister said, adding Canada is working with other countries on the possibility of further sanctions.

“Any solution to this crisis must respect the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine as well as the constitution of Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s reckless and unilateral actions will lead only to Russia’s further economic and political isolation from the international community.”

Earlier Sunday, protesters in at least two Canadian cities joined the international condemnation against the ballot.

Some protesters applauded Harper’s decision to travel to Ukraine this Friday to show support for the temporary government in the face of Russian aggression in the strategic Black Sea region.

“This is an already an important symbolic visit showing support to the Ukrainians,” said Lada Roslycky, a human rights campaigner who organized an Ottawa protest across the street from the Russian embassy.

About 100 protesters staged a mock referendum outside the heavily-guarded embassy. They brandished signs that denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as organizers passed out fake cash, and urged mock voters to vote as often as they liked for either of two options to cede from Russia — yes and yes — as demonstrators in military garb stood over a fake ballot box. (Continued: CBC News)

SOCIAL MEDIA

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Post by Yahoo Canada News.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

March 4, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Condemning Russia, G7 leaders suspend planning for Sochi summit

The U.S. and six other nations say they are suspending participation in the planning for an international summit in Russia this summer.

The White House issued the joint statement on behalf of the Group of Seven. That’s the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The nations also participate in the Group of Eight economic group, which includes Russia.

In the joint statement, the countries say they condemn Russia’s “clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” They say Russia’s advances in Ukraine violate the “principles and values” on which the G7 and G8 operate.

Russia is scheduled to host the G8 summit in June in Sochi, site of the recently completed Winter Olympics.

“We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the statement said.

“We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June.”

Duller times in 2004

The European Union, however, is unlikely to match the United States in threatening sanctions against Russia when its foreign ministers meet to discuss Ukraine on Monday, instead pushing for mediation between Moscow and Kiev, officials say.

The emergency talks, convened after Russian President Vladimir Putin secured parliamentary approval on Saturday to invade Ukraine, are expected to result in a strongly worded statement of condemnation, but no immediate punitive measures. (Source: Globe & Mail)