Foreign Affairs committee  Can I just add to that? In terms of Global Affairs Canada's role in our ongoing commercial engagement with Kazakhstan, obviously we do have the trade commissioner service there on the ground in Astana. Again, as you've probably heard, Canada has some niche areas. Cameco's involve

Foreign Affairs committee  I don't want to comment on behalf of Global Affairs on the latest developments in Syria, sir. I could give some purely personal thoughts, but I don't even want to go there. I'm happy to take that question to our people who follow this, who are absolutely up to speed, and who ca

Foreign Affairs committee  No, it's just that, from my perspective, things are so complex, and moving so quickly, that it really is.... While for the most part I'm more than happy to speak off the cuff and give some impressions on an issue that is so front and centre and so delicate, I think I'd be doing m

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, that's a good question. Do you want to speak to that, David?

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Welcome to the 21st century version of the “Great Game”. You've put your finger on a hugely important dynamic in the region. I might start my response with the very end of your question: I don't know. How it will play out, how it will resolve, is very difficult to say

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. My short answer is yes, I can categorically reassure you—with the caveat that we are developing a counterstrategy. The issue you've touched on is crucially important, and I'll speak a little more about it in a second. I can assure you and members of the comm

Foreign Affairs committee  Again, these are very good questions. In terms of engagement, as I said earlier, it is proceeding modestly. We're not leaping ahead, pushing forward by leaps and bounds. The plan is to continue to go forward in the spirit of the analysis that has guided our approach to Russia e

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. This question is quite complex. It could take an entire day to only begin to provide a response. It would be better for me to continue in English. Yes, Ukraine is such a special and challenging example, particularly for Canadians. Given the reality that you're all

Foreign Affairs committee  I think you make a very good point. Certainly when we're talking about Poland, we shouldn't preclude the importance of the subjective element, the degree to which much, it would appear, of what is driving recent Polish behaviour and apparent departures from what we would consider

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. That's a hugely important issue. I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that it really gets to the heart of the matter. You can think globally of all the challenges the whole world seems to have faced in recent years. There's the fact of Brexit last

Foreign Affairs committee  Belarus is a very interesting situation. Where to begin? I guess one begins in Belarus with an extremely crafty and seasoned leader, Lukashenko. Relatively speaking, he came out of nowhere. He was a state-farm chairman who first won election in 1994, very early in Belarus' comp

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Kent. Yes, most definitely I'm pleased to respond. First of all, if we go right back to 2014—and I'm not going to get into a long history lesson—we have two phases. There was the nature of the interactions under the previous Conservative government. As a result

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much, sir. Good morning to everyone. Before I read my formal remarks, let me echo your comment to the effect that this exchange will be very timely. I had the great pleasure of being in front of this committee at some point before Christmas. The timing is a bit