Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will take part in a group photograph with Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's APEC summit, explaining that he will do so out of respect for the host, Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"Yes, I will participate in the photo out of respect for the host. We're in Asia," Carney told reporters while speaking in Manila, the Philippine capital, one stop on his overseas multi-country tour.
The photograph will be taken at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected to attend.
With the war in Ukraine continuing and casualties mounting following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Carney was asked why appearing in the photo is the right move. He said Canada's repudiation of Russia is demonstrated through its broader sanctions policy, not through boycotting a picture. He pointed to the federal government's recent announcement that it will take steps to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada for next month's world junior hockey championship in Alberta.
"Canada stands firmly with Ukraine, firmly with democracy, territorial integrity, rule of law," Carney said, adding that all of those positions put Canada on the other side of Putin's Russia.
The family photo is traditional diplomatic protocol at world summits, and Carney is not the first Canadian leader to face the question. Former prime ministers Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper both took part in such photos with the Russian leader. The Shenzhen summit will mark Carney's first face-to-face encounter with Putin since becoming prime minister.
Others in his government have chosen differently. Faced with a similar decision at last month's G20 ministerial meeting in Atlanta, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she would opt out of taking part in a group photo with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
Putin is able to attend this year's APEC summit because China, unlike last year's host, South Korea, is not a member of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president.
Meanwhile, the White House has confirmed plans for a trilateral meeting between Trump, Xi and Putin, coming amid recent U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia. Asked for his thoughts on that meeting, Carney reiterated support for NATO allies. "The security architecture for free Europe will be determined by free Europe, for Europe and NATO, not by Russia," he said.
