Russia imposes entry bans on nearly 600 Canadians including PM Trudeau
April 29, 2022, 7:12 am

Russia imposes entry bans on nearly 600 Canadians including PM Trudeau

Justin Trudeau

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, Russia said on Thursday (Apr 28) it was imposing entry bans on nearly 600 Canadian nationals including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for what it called "hostile actions" by the country's leadership.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was also among 592 people barred from traveling to Russia in the largely symbolic move.

It formed part of a pattern of Russian retaliation against countries which have provided political and military support to Ukraine. On Wednesday (Apr 27), Russia imposed a similar travel ban on hundreds of British members of parliament.

House of Commons in London, UK (Photo: Pixabay)

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: "We emphasize these kinds of sanctions are imposed out of necessity by the Russian side and exclusively in response to the hostile actions of the Canadian leadership."

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It should be noted that the ministry last week announced sanctions against 61 Canadian officials, journalists and military experts for supporting what it called the "Russophobic" stance of the Canadian administration.

Source: aawsat

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.