OTTAWA -
A lady believed to be the girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin was amongst 22 people added to the checklist of Russians sanctioned by Canada over the struggle in Ukraine.
Alina Kabaeva, 39, a former Olympic gymnast who's now the chair of the Nationwide Media Group in Russia, has lengthy been reported to be Putin's girlfriend and alleged to be the mom of a few of his youngsters. Each she and Putin have denied a romantic hyperlink.
International Affairs Minister Melanie Joly mentioned Tuesday Canada was working with its allies and including new folks to monetary sanctions every week in a bid to "suffocate the Putin regime" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
"We're doing it each week, that is our aim," she mentioned. "It has been like that since Feb. 24 and we're doing it together with allies. So, what we're doing is usually we take the lead. Generally we work with the Individuals, generally we work with the Europeans and on the finish of the day, when all of the G7 ministers collect, we all know that we're engaged on the identical entities and people."
Kabaeva, who can be a former Russian politician, was first sanctioned by the UK two weeks in the past. The Wall Road Journal reported a month in the past that the USA had held off including Kabaeva to its checklist of sanctioned people for concern it could escalate tensions between Russia and the U.S. an excessive amount of.
Joly was cautious in how she described Kabaeva Tuesday, initially calling her "an individual very near Putin" after which when requested to elaborate on whom she was referring to, grimacing and pausing. "So it is his--" she mentioned, pausing. "I do not know (what) to name her, however his companion, sure, I assume."
Others on the checklist of sanctions that got here into power final Friday embrace billionaire Andrei Kozitsyn and several other bankers together with Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, the top of the Russian Novikombank.
The most recent spherical of sanctions additionally contains 4 monetary establishments.
Canada has sanctioned greater than 1,500 people and entities since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
"At this level our aim is to isolate economically, politically and diplomatically Russia," Joly mentioned.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Might 31, 2022.
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