Canadian PM, rebuffed by Russia, still eagerly awaited by Ukraine, Poland (11/08/98)

Canadian PM, rebuffed by Russia, still eagerly awaited by Ukraine, Poland

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - In a fit of pique over Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's decision to downgrade the planned Team Canada trade visit to Russia, Ukraine and Poland to a series of three political summits, on October 26 Russian President Boris Yeltsin told Mr. Chrétien not to come at all.

According to a front-page report by Mike Trickey in the premiere issue of the Toronto-based National Post daily of October 27, Mr. Yeltsin's office made the announcement together with a cancellation of the Russian leader's own visit to a European Union ministers' meeting in Vienna.

"Seven years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia remains hyper-sensitive to any action that can be construed as lack of respect befitting a superpower," Mr. Trickey wrote, "and Mr. Yeltsin sent word he was not interested in hosting Mr. Chrétien unless trade was part of the visit."

The Canadian prime minister put a brave face on the situation in a press release issued by his office on October 27, in which he is quoted as saying, "In consultation with President Yeltsin, I have decided to postpone my visit to Russia, in light of the current international economic situation. I look forward to rescheduling my trip, perhaps later in 1999."

The press release also mentions that "the prime minister's plan to conduct his first official visits to Ukraine and Poland remains unchanged."

Sophie Galarneau, a press relations official at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told The Weekly on October 28 that Ukrainian officials had already been contacted and the scheduled visit to Ukraine has been confirmed. Ms. Galarneau pointed out that there is a distinction between Russia, Ukraine and Poland, in that the latter two countries have yet to host an official visit by Mr. Chrétien.

As a result, the PMO official said Kyiv and Warsaw are "still very much looking forward to a visit by the prime minister," whether or not it has a primarily commercial component.

Ms. Galarneau said logistics of the visit, including the exact dates when the Canadian leader will be in Ukraine, are still being finalized.

Taras Malyshevsky, press attaché at Ukraine's Embassy in Ottawa, said that planning for the January mission is ongoing, as 10 bilateral agreements concerning cultural exchanges, bio-technology, aerospace, global warming and civil law are being prepared for official signing in Kyiv.

The original intent was for a delegation of up to 2,000 Canadian business leaders and 10 provincial premiers to make a deal-making tour of the three countries in January 1999. It was to have been the first such visit to Europe by a Team Canada delegation.

According to the National Post item, "Russian authorities learned of the cancellation through a media leak on the day they were to have met Canadian Foreign Affairs officials about possible alternatives" for Mr. Chrétien's visit.

The PMO announced that the trade component was being dropped on October 8.

The October 27 PMO release noted that "Canada will continue its policy of engagement with Russia in all areas," and that Mr. Chrétien should have an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest when he meets Russian Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Malaysia in mid-November.

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