Russia's retaliation, outlined in a statement from the Foreign Ministry, came a day after the U.S. Senate voted to slap new sanctions on Russia, putting President Donald Trump in a tough position by forcing him to take a hard line on Moscow or veto the legislation and anger his own Republican Party.
BEIJING - China on Monday ridiculed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim that a former Canadian Embassy official detained in Beijing still held diplomatic immunity. Chinese authorities arrested former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor last month, accusing them both of endangering national security. The move was widely seen as retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top Chinese executive from telecom giant Huawei. Trudeau on Friday accused China of "arbitrarily and unfairly" detaining the two men and of ignoring Kovrig's "diplomatic immunity" -- earning a scornful rebuke from Beijing. "The accusations that the Chinese side arbitrarily detains Canadian citizens are unfounded," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing.
"We can educate (the) North Korean population to stand up by disseminating outside information," Thae Yong-ho, chief of mission at Pyongyang's embassy in Britain until he defected in 2016, said during an appearance at Congress two days before President Donald Trump's first trip to Asia since taking office.