OTTAWA–Canadian foreign affairs officials were contemplating a one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Russian President Vladimir Putin, documents obtained by the Star show. Warming relations between Ottawa and Moscow had senior public servants envisioning a “leaders’ level encounter” between Trudeau and Putin as recently as August 2016. “Re-engaging (with Russia) is a complex undertaking which understandably elicits a range of views on how best to proceed,” the heavily-censored documents read. “High-level engagement between our prime minister and his Russian counterpart is an important component of re-engagement.” The documents, stamped “secret” and obtained under access to information law, lay out the “action plan for re-engaging Russia” taken by the Liberal government under former foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion. They repeatedly stress Canada’s support for Ukraine, and Ottawa opposition to Russia’s “behaviour” and “actions” in that country. Russia continues to lay claim to Ukraine’s Crimea region, an annexation viewed as illegitimate by Canada and its allies. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, Canadian officials said no such bilateral meeting is in the works. Even if public servants pushed for such a bilateral meeting, their political masters would not likely approve the move.A one-on-one meeting with Putin could make for some difficult optics for Trudeau, politically and diplomatically, given the ongoing probe into allegations of collusion between Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign.Although that’s not stopping Trump. The embattled U.S. president is set to meet with the Russian presidentat the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday.Still, foreign affairs officials outlined several benefits to Canada resuming diplomatic relations with Moscow. “Multilate ...
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