New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed he will travel to Washington next Tuesday for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Top of his agenda are trade tariffs and the overall nature of the bilateral relationship.
"My intention has always been to raise these issues directly," Carney said, emphasizing that he seeks to discuss the urgent issue of tariffs as well as the long-term direction of Canada-U.S. relations.
When a reporter asked whether President Trump implied, during their recent phone call, that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States ( a comment Trump has repeatedly made publicly in recent months), Carney responded categorically: " No, he didn't say that ."
When asked if he thought the Trump administration was showing respect for Canada, Carney said: " We always have to distinguish between desire and reality ." " The possibility of Canada becoming a state of the United States will never happen ," he added.
Carney acknowledged that his meeting with Trump will not be easy. " I'm not claiming that the talks will be easy. I will fight for the best possible deal for Canada ," he said.
Speaking later in French, he said discussions on tariffs would be complicated and that he had no intention of negotiating publicly. When asked if he expected good faith negotiations in Washington, given Trump's repeated statements about the "51st state," Carney avoided making predictions, simply noting that " white smoke " should not be expected from the meeting.
At the same time, the Canadian prime minister promised to begin "the greatest transformation of the Canadian economy since the end of World War II" , in the first interview he gave after his victory in last Monday's parliamentary elections. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
