Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with US President Donald Trump yesterday but denied backing down from his comments from last week that irritated the US leader, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant earlier said that Carney “very firmly backed down“ from some of his comments from his Davos speech, in which he called on countries around the world to accept the end of the rules-based world order.
In response to a reporter's question whether he had retracted his comments, Carney said: “No“.
Tensions between the United States and Canada have increased in recent days, Reuters notes. On Thursday, Trump withdrew an invitation for Canada to join the global conflict-resolution initiative “Peace Council“, which Bulgaria has also joined.
The move followed a speech by Carney in Davos, in which he criticized major countries for using economic integration and tariffs as a tool for political pressure.