Foreign Minister Joly to Meet German Counterpart in Montreal Amid Russia Tensions

Foreign Minister Joly to Meet German Counterpart in Montreal Amid Russia Tensions
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock delivers a speech during a press conference in Istanbul, July 29, 2022. (The Canadian Press/AP-Khalil Hamra)
The Canadian Press
8/3/2022
Updated:
8/3/2022

Canada’s foreign affairs minister is to hold a public event in Montreal today with her German counterpart, following Canada’s controversial decision to send parts of a Russian natural gas pipeline back to Germany.

The Foreign Affairs Department says Mélanie Joly will participate in a “fireside chat” with German federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

Before the chat, the two ministers will hold a news conference, during which they will discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war’s implications on energy and food prices.

In July, Canada said it would grant a Canadian company an exemption on Russian sanctions and allow the export to Germany of six turbines under maintenance in Montreal that are part of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany.

That decision angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called Canada’s actions unacceptable.

Since then, Russia has reduced natural gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to 20 percent amid tensions over the war in Ukraine, citing technical issues that Germany says are only an excuse for a political power play.