Canada avoids sanctions on two Putin allies due to business interests: report

PanARMENIAN.Net - Canada broke with the United States and did not impose sanctions on two key allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin because the pair had Canadian business interests, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Canada, home to 1.2 million people of Ukrainian descent, has imposed sanctions on more than 80 Russian and Ukrainian officials and businesses, compared to about 60 by the United States.

But unlike the United States, Canada has not moved against Sergei Chemezov, who heads state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec, and Igor Sechin, CEO of oil giant Rosneft. Both men, who are close to Putin, have business ties to Canada.

Rosneft owns some 30 percent of a Canadian oil field, while Rostec has an aircraft assembly joint venture lined up with Bombardier Inc. The venture is vital to the Canadian plane and train maker, as the fate of a roughly $3.4 billion aircraft sale deal is tied to it.

Asked about the decision not to go after either Sechin or Chemezov, a Canadian government source familiar with Ottawa's sanctions strategy told Reuters: "Our goal is to sanction Russia, it is not to go out of our way to sanction or penalize Canadian companies."

As Ottawa developed its sanctions policy, it was being lobbied by top officials from Bombardier, which is one of Canada's major industrial players.

The company last year signed a preliminary deal to sell 100 short-haul aircraft in Russia and agreed to set up an assembly line for the planes in that country, in partnership with Rostec. Bombardier also has other interests in Russia, including a long-standing joint venture in its rail business.

Canada's official registry of lobbyists shows Bombardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin reported six meetings in March with government officials, including Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Industry Minister James Moore.

According to Reuters, one source familiar with the discussions said Bombardier did not specifically ask the government to keep Chemezov off the sanctions list but stressed the ramifications that punitive measures could have on its business interests in Russia.

Three of the meetings took place on March 4 and one on March 7. After Canada announced sanctions in mid-March, Bombardier again met with senior officials on March 20 and 27.

The registry of lobbyists showed no record of Rosneft representatives meeting with the Canadian government in March. But a third well-placed source, familiar with sanctions planning, confirmed the decision to exclude both Chemezov and Sechin was made because of Canada's commercial interests.