In an unorthodox diplomatic move, Canada’s UN mission on Thursday tweeted out a heavily annotated letter Russia had sent to the United Nations, including in the rewrite pointed comments, later prompting Russian accusations of “kindergarten-level libel.”
In a Tweet that quickly went viral, Canada’s UN mission added multiple remarks to a March 16 letter from Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia. The missive sought support for Russia’s draft resolution on providing aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine.
Thank you <a href=”https://twitter.com/RussiaUN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RussiaUN</a> for your letter dated March 16.<br><br>Please see our suggested edits below. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#StandWithUkraine</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RespectTheCharter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RespectTheCharter</a> <a href=”https://t.co/0M663R0tUW”>pic.twitter.com/0M663R0tUW</a>
Canada’s UN mission annotated one part of the Russian letter that read: “Like other members of the international community, we are gravely concerned about its deterioration,” referring to the “dire humanitarian situation in and around Ukraine.”
Canada’s UN mission crossed out the first few words and changed the rest to read: “We are not gravely concerned about its deterioration,” and inserted at the end “because we are the primary cause.”
In a section a few sentences below that, Canada’s UN mission added a comment, asking: “Do you think the UN membership actually believes this?” where Nebenzia accuses “Western colleagues” of “politicizing humanitarian issue (sic).”
On the final page, Canada suggested part of an alternative ending: “We want you to know just how little we care about the human life we have destroyed.”
Lama Khodr, a media spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the tweet was published “to contribute to Canada’s public diplomacy on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to provide transparency on the disinformation being spread by the Russian mission to the UN.”
WATCH | Joly gives an update on Russia diplomacy talks:
Russia can’t negotiate in good faith while targeting Ukrainian civilians: Joly
8 hours ago
Duration 11:58
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she doesn’t trust Russia to negotiate peace with Ukraine in good faith while its military is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on the ground. 11:58
Anthony Hinton, political co-ordinator at Canada’s UN mission, went to Twitter on Thursday to explain how the tweet was created.
“This was done in-house by a creative member of the team, who is responsible for protecting civilians,” he said.
“Took 30 mins. Only 1 draft then published. No back & forth with HQ. Aim: transparency for this blatant Russian disinfo, which they sent to all UN members.”
For naysayers out there: this was done in-house by a creative member of the team, who is responsible for protecting civilians. Took 30 mins. Only 1 draft then published. No back & forth with HQ. Aim: transparency for this blatant Russian disinfo, which they sent to all UN members <a href=”https://t.co/m8KBPNMUDA”>https://t.co/m8KBPNMUDA</a>
Dmitry Polyanskiy, first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, fired back on Thursday:
“Thank you @CanadaONU for this kindergarten-level Russophobic libel!” he wrote on Twitter.
“It only shows that your diplomatic skills and good manners are at lowest ebb and gives an idea why your country’s bid for a non-permanent seat in #SecurityCouncil was voted down twice in 20yrs by UN membership,” Polyanskiy said, adding a thumbs-down emoji.
Thank you <a href=”https://twitter.com/CanadaONU?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CanadaONU</a> for this kindergarten-level Russophobic libel! It only shows that your diplomatic skills and good manners are at lowest ebb and gives an idea why your country’s bid for a non-permanent seat in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/SecurityCouncil?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#SecurityCouncil</a> was voted down twice in 20yrs by UN membership ???????? <a href=”https://t.co/3OOcvEP8R8″>https://t.co/3OOcvEP8R8</a>
Tweet ‘unconventional’ but ‘effective’: diplomacy expert
Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat and fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says Canada’s tweet demonstrates “effective diplomacy.”
“It’s unconventional, but we are living in unconventional times,” Robertson said.
He said traditional diplomacy, which tends to happen behind closed doors and is kept out of the public eye, isn’t as effective in today’s information-rich times, where social media has increased people’s expectations for transparency.
In order to maintain public support, Robertson says it’s in governments’ best interest to make information public early on.
“I think diplomacy is going to have to change if it’s going to sustain the public support that is necessary for democracies to be able to act together,” Robertson said. “Because when you go to war, you have to have the support of your public.”
Robertson noted a shift in diplomacy strategy earlier on in the Russia-Ukraine conflict when Western officials shared intelligence on Russia’s imminent invasion publicly, something that he said would not have happened in the past.
On Feb. 21, days before Russia began its wide-ranging invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russian forces were preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine, and laid out detailed intelligence about how Russia would do it.
WATCH | U.S. secretary of state warns Russian attack on Ukraine imminent:
Russia to attack Ukraine in ‘coming days:’ U.S. secretary of state
29 days ago
Duration 3:54
At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia ‘plans to manufacture a pretext’ for an attack on Ukraine. 3:54
But Robertson said Twitter diplomacy has backfired in the past, like when Global Affairs Canada publicly called out Saudi Arabia on Twitter in 2018 for arresting activists and demanded their release.
After the tweet was published, Saudi Arabia ordered Canada’s ambassador to leave the country and froze all new trade and investment transactions with Canada.
“I think the problem with tweets is that there’s no nuance and, normally, diplomacy is nuanced,” said Robertson.
But he said in this case, the tweet condemning Russia’s actions in the letter provides quite a bit of nuance because it includes the original Russian letter and detailed comments explaining Canada’s position.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
