Canada summons Russian ambassador to condemn civilian attacks, antisemitic remarks – National | 24CA News
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Ottawa is summoning Russia’s ambassador to sentence each Moscow’s assaults on Ukrainian civilians and her Russian counterpart’s current antisemitic feedback in regards to the conflict.
Speaking alongside U.Okay. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly following a bilateral assembly in Toronto Wednesday, Joly mentioned the transfer was in response to final weekend’s missile strike on an condominium constructing in Dnipro that killed a minimum of 45 Ukrainians within the deadliest civilian assault of the conflict since final spring.
Joly introduced up previous assaults on civilians and the mass graves revealed after Russian troops have been pressured to drag out of Ukrainian cities like Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol, which she mentioned have been the results of Moscow’s “increasingly desperate” makes an attempt to realize victory almost a 12 months into its invasion.
“We will ensure that those responsible for the horrific scenes and crimes in these cities and those across Ukraine answer to their crimes,” she mentioned.
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She added Kremlin officers should even be confronted “face to face” after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in contrast the West’s response to its invasion of Ukraine to the Holocaust earlier Wednesday.
“We will continue to suffocate the Russian regime with coordinated sanctions, and we will continue to counter Russia’s lies with facts.”
Lavrov drew sharp rebukes on Wednesday after saying the United States had assembled a coalition of Western allies to unravel “the Russian question” in the identical manner that Adolf Hitler had sought a “final solution” to eradicate Europe’s Jews.
“Just as Hitler wanted a ‘final solution’ to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians … they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat,” Lavrov instructed reporters in Moscow.
The ‘Final Solution’ was Hitler’s blueprint for the Holocaust, which led to the systematic homicide of six million Jews, in addition to members of different minorities.
Lavrov’s feedback come amid rising antisemitism across the globe. The newest annual report from Tel Aviv University discovered a pointy rise in anti-Jewish assaults in 2021 in comparison with current years, significantly within the U.S., Canada and Europe.
The report highlighted knowledge from B’nai Brith Canada that recorded a 40-year excessive in violent incidents towards Jewish individuals in 2021.
Joly responded on Twitter that Lavrov’s feedback have been “utterly disrespectful to victims and survivors of the Holocaust. She also pointed out that, unlike the Jews during the Second World War, Russia “is the aggressor. Not the victim.”
The White House additionally condemned Lavrov’s analogy.
“How dare he compare anything to the Holocaust, anything. Let alone a war that they started,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby instructed reporters on Wednesday.
“It’s almost so absurd that it’s not worth responding to, other than the truly offensive manner in which he tried to cast us in terms of Hitler and the Holocaust.”
Cleverly was wrapping up a two-day go to to Canada and the U.S. that included a sit-down with Joly the place Ukraine, Iran and different international occasions have been mentioned. A day earlier, he held comparable conferences with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and different officers in Washington.
The U.Okay. is looking for to reposition itself as a pacesetter in Western help for Kyiv following a protracted political disaster that noticed the ousting of two prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, over the span of simply two months final 12 months.
Britain’s new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has vowed to accentuate help for the conflict effort, together with sending battle tanks to Ukraine and different army support. Cleverly mentioned Wednesday that support should circulation extra shortly from Western allies to the frontlines to assist Ukraine push again the Russian military.
The U.Okay. has additionally hosted army coaching for Ukrainian fighters utilizing Western-supplied tools, which Canada has additionally taken half in.
Joly mentioned Wednesday that “additional Canadian expertise” can be becoming a member of the U.Okay.’s Government Information Cell that works to counter Russian disinformation that’s unfold on-line.
Defence Minister Anita Anand used a shock go to to Ukraine on Wednesday to announce that Canada is sending one other 200 armoured autos to assist with the nation’s defence.
The federal authorities says Canada has contributed roughly $5 billion in army, monetary and humanitarian help since Russian forces crossed into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
—With recordsdata from Reuters and the Canadian Press
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