Friday Focus: Back to a Russia-Ukraine stalemate and Mark Carney gets a standing ovation in Alberta

Rudyard and Janice start the show with a preview of next Wednesday’s mainstage Munk Debate on the two-state solution. What kind of arguments are they anticipating from both sides? How will this discussion resonate in Israel? And why did we feel this was the right time to convene this debate? Rudyard and Janice then turn to the stalemate between Ukraine and Russia. After all of the negotiations neither side will agree to terms of territorial concessions. Should Zelensky accept a modification of the 28-point deal that would lead to the end of his political career? and what are Russia’s long term designs for Ukraine and its relationship with the West?  In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice discuss the memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta in which both sides have agreed to work on approving a bitumen pipeline. We are witnessing a reset of Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa and it is astonishing to watch Mark Carney, a liberal Prime Minister, get a standing ovation in Alberta. This agreement will anger British Columbia voters and indigenous nations in the area. Why is he doing this? Can he strengthen national unity? And if this pipeline makes it through all the approval processes and actually gets built, what will the demand for oil be in ten years?