Prime Minister Stephen Harper won’t place his customary beer bet on Monday’s World Juniors gold medal game — because that would force him to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I would refer you to our very public comments on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” PMO spokesman Carl Vallée said Monday ahead of Canada’s championship hockey game against Russia in Toronto.
Mr. Harper, a staunch hockey fan and who has published a lengthy book on the subject, has frequently bet cases of beer on international hockey matches — primarily with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama. But given his icy relationship with President Putin as of late, it was unlikely that Mr. Harper would branch out.
When the two leaders met at November’s G20 summit in Australia, the Prime Minister was said to have accepted Mr. Putin’s extended hand, saying “I’ll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: Get out of Ukraine.”
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird — also known to place beer bets on the Canadian national hockey teams — will abstain this time around, his office said.
Officials at the Kremlin and the Russian embassy in Ottawa were not available for comment on Monday.
Source:: National Post
