Canada Sanctions Putin, Lavrov, Reveals Stance on SWIFT

By Staff, Agencies

Canada imposed sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed.

The move followed similar announcements from the UK, EU, and US. Trudeau accused the Russian leadership of conducting a “barbaric war” against freedom and democracy as he announced the sanctions.

The measure is part of “severe, coordinated sanctions” that Canada and its allies are imposing on people who “bear the greatest responsibility for the death and destruction occurring in Ukraine,” Trudeau said in a press conference in Ottawa on Friday.

Calling the Russian military operation in Ukraine an “unjustified and unprovoked invasion,” he also said Canada would sanction 57 additional people in Belarus for their alleged role in it.

Trudeau echoed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call to remove Russia from the SWIFT international banking system. Several EU countries have objected to such a measure, warning that it would cut them off from vital resources they are continuing to buy from Russia, such as oil and gas.

The Canadian PM accused Russia of waging “war on freedom, on democracy, and on the rights of Ukrainians and all people to determine their own future,” while praising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “the embodiment of the courage of Ukrainian people.”

“I am inspired by his resolve and his devotion to his country,” Trudeau said.

Conflict in Ukraine broke out after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced military action aimed at “demilitarizing” and “denazifying” the country.

Russia argued that military action was a necessary measure to protect the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in the Donbass, which had requested Russian military assistance against “Ukrainian aggression” this week.