I really appreciate the nature of your question because it gets at the issue, which is that we are dealing with people. We are dealing with people when it comes to intervening in the affairs of other states. This is what NATO does. We do this with our involvement in the UN, and we do it in our own remit with the Canadian Forces. We are intervening in the affairs of states, and we greatly affect the long-term futures of the people who are receiving our intervention. I have never been a fan of economic sanctions, because the people who get hurt by sanctions are the women, the children, and the men—the belligerents, a little, and the megalomaniac leaders, never.
When we are looking at Russia, we have a situation where more of the people will be affected rather than the leadership, because of the systems that are in place, which they can go around and move above and under. When we look at reconstruction and stabilization methods, one of the better ways to work with a country like Russia is to do anything in our power to advocate building relationships, at many levels but mostly with the executive leadership. If there are opportunities that arise for Canada to be at a table, to be part of a conference or some type of economic arrangement, take the opportunity. History has shown that this creates more positive outcomes than economic sanctions and war.
Thank you.