Trudeau Refuses To Comment On Reports US, Huawei CFO Engaged In Plea Deal Talks

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday declined to comment on reports that US authorities and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou are negotiating a possible plea deal that would allow her to return to China

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2020) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday declined to comment on reports that US authorities and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou are negotiating a possible plea deal that would allow her to return to China.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the plea deal would require Meng to admit to wire and bank fraud charges related to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran.

"I'm not going to comment on those reports," Trudeau said at a press briefing.

The prime minister said bringing the two Canadian citizens currently held in detention in China remains his primary focus.

Earlier in the day, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated Beijing's stance that Meng has not committed any crimes as the United States and Canada have claimed and urged Ottawa to immediately release her and allow her to return to her home country.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on December 1, 2018 at Vancouver International Airport during a layover stop at the request of the US government.

The US Justice Department alleges that Meng committed financial transgressions by misleading multinational financial conglomerate, HSBC, into approving more than $100 million in transactions that contravened US sanctions on Iran from 2010 to 2014.

Meng's detention has led to a deterioration of Sino-Canadian relations and, according to Canadian officials, was allegedly a contributing factor to the arrest of two Canadian nationals - former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor - on charges of espionage in China.

Both Beijing and Ottawa view the detention of their nationals as political incidents. Moreover, China maintains that Meng's case is the result of the US objective to suppress the development of Chinese technology enterprises.

The case has proved to be divisive in Canada, with a few parliamentarians calling for Meng's release, while Canada's two preeminent political parties - the Liberals and Conservatives - have said that Ottawa will not bow, to what it calls "coercive diplomacy."

During a virtual panel assembled to advocate for the executive's release last week, Canadian Member of Parliament Paul Manly said that the incoming Biden administration may be more inclined to drop charges against Meng.