Why it’s worth it for Canada to talk to the Russian bear

Michael Byers, the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at UBC, wrote an op-ed for the Globe and Mail about Canada’s shift in foreign policy in dealing directly with Russia and the Arctic.

“Negotiations on Arctic co-operation might seem peripheral to the hostile exchanges taking place in the Security Council, but they are not. [Foreign Minister Stéphane] Dion’s move creates a new opportunity for East-West dialogue at a time when polite conversations are desperately needed,” he wrote.