Canada’s foreign minister says Russia lied to world before Ukraine invasion

Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly said Russia lied to the world ahead of its invasion of Ukraine at a United Nations panel in Europe on Monday.

She also called on Russia to respect the rights of the Russian people who have taken to the streets in protest of the Russian government’s decision to invade.

“We call on Russia to respect the human rights not only of Ukrainians, but also of its own citizens, who by thousands have taken the streets in protest of this unjust war,” said Joly.

She delivered the message today at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Russia is the only one to blame for this crisis. It chose to resort to lies and violence and fabricate all the pieces of a crisis to try and undermine the rule of law and violate the rights of people,” said Joly. “Worse, they’re trying to justify their war by spreading a false rhetoric and attempting to manipulate the principles of human rights to support their illegal and illegitimate violence.”

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for talks earlier in the day in an attempt to discuss diplomatic solutions.