Allies vow to respect rule of law, not use arrest for political purposes, Pompeo, Freeland say
The United States and Canada promised a fair judicial process for a Chinese tech executive who was arrested earlier this month in Canada.
In talks at the State Department on Friday, the U. S. and Canadian foreign and defense ministers put on a united front, following a growing diplomatic dispute between the United States and China, in which Canada finds itself in the middle.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland defended her country’s detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, saying it was « not a political decision, » but « a matter of following the rules. »
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was also « respecting the rule of law each step along the way » as it seeks Meng.
Canada arrested Meng at the request of the United States, which says Huawei violated U. S. sanctions on Iran. She has been released on bail and is awaiting possible extradition to the United States.
Disagreement with Trump
Freeland implicitly pushed back against recent comments by U. S. President Donald Trump, who has said the case could be used as part of wider trade negotiations with Beijing.
