Joly, Blinken respond to Putin's 'political theatre' with even more Russian sanctions
Vladimir Putin's claim to parts of Ukraine is little more than "political theatre" with "no legitimacy," Canada and the United States declared Friday, and should have no impact on how best to deploy military aid from the West.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly joined U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for meetings in Washington, D.C., on the very day the Russian president claimed he was legally entitled to annex four of Ukraine's occupied regions.
Not only are those claims illegitimate, Joly and Blinken said, but they will have no bearing on how Ukraine chooses to use the weapons, ammunition and other military support the West has been providing.
"It has no validity, no legitimacy, no legal standing -- this territory remains Ukraine's," Blinken told a news conference in the State Department's plush Benjamin Franklin dining room, a portrait of its namesake looming above.
"Our support to Ukraine will continue, and that support can be used as Ukraine sees fit throughout the country to defend its territory and, as necessary, to take it back."
Some observers have warned that the annexation strategy, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to the south, is a ploy to allow Putin to claim he is defending Russian soil.
Neither Blinken nor Joly appeared overly concerned about that Friday.
"We do not recognize Putin's words. He's spreading lies -- again," Joly said.
"This is part of political theatre. Nobody is buying it. And so that's why we will not change the course of our actions."
While in Washington, Joly announced fresh sanctions against Russia that target 43 Russian oligarchs, financial elites and their families and 35 Russia-backed senior officials in the four occupied regions.
Those sanctions came as the U.S. and the U.K. also announced fresh rounds of sanctions: Britain's measures included freezing the assets of Russia's central bank governor, while the U.S. added 900 individuals and 57 companies to its various blacklists.
Friday also saw Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy confirm that Ukraine is submitting an "accelerated" application to join NATO, a move Joly said Canada fully endorses.
"We believe that Ukraine should be part of NATO," she said. "It's been our position for now more than a decade, and we believe in the open-door policy."
Both Blinken and Joly acknowledged that Europe, long dependent on Russia for its energy, is facing a difficult winter without access to its usual supplier. But the work to help ease that pressure -- in part by reducing demand and looking for renewable alternatives -- has been ongoing for months, he said.
The apparent bombings this week in the Baltic Sea that ruptured the twin Nord Stream pipelines between Russia and Germany will have little immediate impact, he added: one has been idled for weeks as a result of the war, while the other has yet to even come online.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the U.S. has become the leading supplier of liquid natural gas to Europe, and also issued historic releases of oil from its strategic reserves earlier this year, Blinken noted -- a move that was aimed at easing the upward pressure on energy prices that has been causing economic and political pain both around the world and at home.
"My own sense ... is, look, there's a lot of hard work to do to make sure that countries and partners get through the winter," he said. But Europe has already taken "very significant" steps towards the transition to renewable energy.
"Ultimately, this is also a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy, and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs."
Joly said Canada, too, has increased its energy production in response to the crisis, and she pointed to longer-term solutions as well, including a new $18-billion LNG export terminal under construction near the B.C. coast, expected to be operational in 2025, as well as a new hydrogen facility in Newfoundland.
"We want to be there short-term, with the existing context we know," Joly said.
"We (also) want to be there in the middle-term, and we want to be there in the long-term. We're obviously very seized of the energy security situation in Europe, and that's why we're in solution mode."
On Thursday, Swedish officials discovered a fourth leak along the Nord Stream gas pipelines, vital energy links for Europe that have been spewing methane into the Baltic Sea since Monday following two underwater explosions.
NATO says all evidence suggests the pipelines between Russia and Germany were likely damaged by "deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible" acts of sabotage.
The leaks are of "deep concern" and are also endangering shipping lanes, to say nothing of what is expected to be "substantial environmental damage," the alliance said in a statement.
"We, as allies, have committed to prepare for, deter and defend against the coercive use of energy and other hybrid tactics by state and non-state actors."
Joly acknowledged that newly launched investigations may find Russia responsible.
"We want to make sure we do things in the right way, but we're not naive," she said during a discussion with the Atlantic Council think-tank.
Russia has tried to deflect those charges by suggesting that the U.S. was the only country that would stand to gain from shutting down the pipelines, a claim Blinken refused to dignify with a response Friday.
But he also stopped short of pointing fingers.
"We are supporting the investigation into these attacks on the pipelines and working to be able to determine who's responsible, but I don't want to get ahead of those investigations," Blinken said.
"I really have nothing to say to the absurd allegation from President Putin that we or other partners or allies are somehow responsible for this."
Joly said western countries need to increasingly isolate Russia.
"The post-Cold War era is over," she said.
"There is a war happening in Ukraine, but there's a war on information happening around the world, and there is an economic war also," she said, which is being waged "against the West."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2022.
With files from Marie-Danielle Smith in Ottawa
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
Local Spotlight
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada Goose vs. fox fight on video
Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada Goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.