Canada’s foreign minister will attend G20, although Russia is there too – nationally

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly is due to attend a G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia this week, although Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected.

In March, Joly was leaving a United Nations meeting in Geneva with many others when Lavrov, who was sanctioned by Canada, began speaking days earlier.

In April, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland took part in a strike at a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In May, International Trade Minister Mary Ng, along with her counterparts from the United States, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, were leaving an APEC meeting in Bangkok when the Russian representative began to speak.

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Joly says a Canadian official attending the Russia Day celebrations should not have taken place

Last week Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would attend November’s G20 leaders’ meeting even if President Vladimir Putin also leaves, saying it’s important to counteract the voice Russia will have at the table .

Joly, who recently said it was unacceptable for a Canadian official to attend a reception hosted by the Russian embassy in Ottawa, is expected to join other foreign ministers at the G20 meeting to crack down on the ongoing war in Ukraine.