EurActiv published an article titled, “Canada looks to cooperate with Russia in the Arctic.” The article reads in part as follows;
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has continued to press Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in a long-running civil war.
But his Liberals have softened the previous Canadian administration’s isolationist policy enough to allow for talks with Russia on other matters, such as the far north – despite Kyiv’s objections.
A joint conference in Ottawa has been scheduled for 24 November.
Canada and Russia control three quarters of the Arctic.
The EU too is keen on cooperating with Russia on the future of the Arctic despite tensions between Brussels and Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
“Preventing scientists from these countries from talking to one another is irrational. Our government wishes to be rational,” Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, parliamentary secretary to Canada’s Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, said in a speech last month.
“We wish to establish links with Russia – cautiously – because we believe that that serves the interests of Canadians and Russians,” as well as “those in Ukraine and Syria,” she said.”
