Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped well beyond economic policy at a G20 finance meeting on Friday to issue an 'impassioned' warning to her Russian counterparts not to invade neighboring Ukraine, two sources familiar with her remarks said.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 17, 2022.
"If Ukraine is invaded, all of our economies and citizens will suffer," Freeland told them, according to one of the sources. "The economic sanctions on Russia will be swift, they will be coordinated, they will be crushing. Like-minded countries agree on this course of action. And we are united and resolute."Freeland's press secretary, Adrienne Vaupshas, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on her speech.
"Do not hurt yourselves in doing this," Freeland said, according to the sources. "Let's not endanger the collective here, including economically.