Canada minister calls on China to de-escalate tensions after Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

Montreal (Reuters) – Canada is extremely concerned with heightened tensions after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit this week, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Wednesday, calling on China to de-escalate the situation.

“We think that legislators do visits around the world and clearly the visit cannot be used as a justification for heightened tensions or a pretext,” Joly, speaking alongside her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, told reporters in Montreal.

“So, in that sense we call on China to de-escalate because we think that there may be risks of not only heightened tensions, but also destabilizing the region,” Joly said.

(This story corrects spelling of China in headline)

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa)