Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “jumped the gun” in France on Monday morning when he suggested Canada might consider new sanctions against Russia, says a former career diplomat.
Jeremy Kinsman, a longtime Canadian ambassador to both Russia and the European Union, said Trudeau’s reaction was “premature,” as the world continues to grapple with the aftermath of a chemical attack on Syrian civilians last week and a subsequent U.S. missile strike.
“I think the prime minister was premature in talking about sanctions against Russia,” Kinsman said Monday.
“You don’t impose sanctions because of suppositions, you impose sanctions because of evidence.”
The implication is that Russia was complicit in the horrific chemical attack orchestrated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he noted, “and there’s no evidence of that.”
Later Monday, the U.S did confirm it believes Russia knew the chemical attack in Syria was coming before it happened.
READ MORE: Trump administration says Russia, Iran enabled Syria chemical attack
In France, for commemoration ceremonies linked to the 100-year anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge, Trudeau told reporters that Canada remains “open” to imposing new sanctions against Russia in concert with its allies, but Russia must also be part of the solution for bringing peace to Syria.
“Countries that have been supportive of the Assad regime bear some of the responsibility for the chemical attacks on innocents,” the prime minister said.
“I think Russia needs to be made aware of its responsibility in the bloody actions last week by the Assad regime… We are always open to working with our friends, allies and partners to send messages through sanctions and other means to Russia.”
Kinsman said he was surprised to hear that coming from Trudeau, who just last week seemed non-committal on who, exactly, even perpetrated the attack.
“I can’t really explain why the prime minister would have jumped the gun and talked about additional sanctions on Russia right now,” Kinsman said Monday.
While America and its allies may believe that Russia controls Assad, “I don’t know if that supposition is any longer as valid as it was several months ago,” he added.
“I think that this is a moment we’ll have to get past. I think Russia would be taken aback by the proposal that Canada add more sanctions.”
Conservatives: Canada lacks clear position
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the Opposition Conservatives held the opposite view, saying the government needs a clearer position on Syria moving forward, including “meaningful new sanctions on Russia.”
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Matt DeCourcey told the House of Commons that “the prime minister has stated clearly that Russia and Iran will be held morally responsible for what happened last week… our position against Russia remains firm and clear. We were the party that increased sanctions against Russia, including supporting the sanctions of the previous government.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump security advisers seeking global response to Syria attack
The Liberals have appeared to shift their position on Assad over the past week. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland initially said that the facts behind the chemical weapons attack must be clearly established so those responsible can be held accountable, but stopped short of blaming the Syrian government.
But the prime minister has since stated that based on American intelligence, Canada is now confident that Assad was responsible.
“Canadians do need to know that their government has a consistent and a coherent position on this,” said Conservative MP Candice Bergen on Monday in question period.
*With files from Vassy Kapelos
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