DUBLIN, IRELAND—On the eve of a summit of world leaders, Prime Minister Stephen Harper castigated Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting “the thugs of the Assad regime” in Syria and said there’s no reason to hope other G8 leaders can convince Putin to help depose the Syrian strongman.

Harper, who wants an end to the dictatorship of President Bashar Assad to halt the bloody civil war in the Middle Eastern nation, went so far as to suggest Putin doesn’t deserve to sit at the table with leaders of some of the most advanced industrial democracies.

“I don’t think we should fool ourselves,” Harper said, using what may be his toughest language ever on the international stage. “This is the G7 plus one. Let’s be blunt, that’s what this is: the G7 plus one.”

The G7, which includes Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, France and Britain, has been meeting for decades as a way for like-minded leaders to talk candidly about global problems. Russia was only invited to join in 1997.

Photos:G8 Protests in Ireland

The two-day G8 summit, which begins Monday in Northern Ireland, is shaping up to be a tense, fractious clash over Putin’s support for Assad. Russia is the main diplomatic backer and arms supplier for Assad, whose efforts to suppress opposition forces seeking his ouster has led to the deaths of nearly 93,000 people so far.

Most of the other G8 leaders have come out in support of U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to deliver military support to the Syrian rebels — a decision Obama made after concluding that Syrian government forces had used small amounts of chemical weapons against their opponents.

Putin has scoffed at efforts to convince Russia to moderate its backing of Assad. On Sunday, the Russian leader added more fuel to the expected dispute at the G8 by warning the West not to back rebels “who kill their enemies and eat their organs.” He was referring to the purported photograph of an anti-Assad fighter taking a bite of a liver he had cut from a dead Syrian soldier.

Harper, speaking to reporters after a bilateral meeting with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, said Putin’s position was unjustifiable but added he doesn’t expect much co-operation from the Russian leader over the next two days.

“Unless there’s a big shift of position on his part, we’re not going to get a common position with him at the G8,” Harper said.

Canada should instead, he said, “continue to work with our allies in the G7 and in NATO to see how we can move the situation (in Syria) in a positive direction where we get the transition towards a government that is genuinely representative, broadly based, democratic, not a threat to the world and certainly, not embracing of terrorist or extremist elements.”

Harper said his government is not budging from its refusal to send Canadian arms to Syrian rebels even though Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada understands why the United States is doing so.

“We are not, in Canada at the present time, we are not contemplating arming the opposition in Syria,” Harper told the media.

For now, he said, Canada will continue to send only humanitarian aid but he fully understands “why our allies would do that, particularly given recent actions by Russia, Iran and others.”

He was referring to countries whose support has helped Assad’s forces gain a military advantage over the rebels in recent weeks.

That may be seen as a bit of a shift in Harper’s position. He has said repeatedly that sending lethal aid to forces trying to topple Assad was a risky move because the weapons could fall into the hands of terrorist-linked groups who number among Assad’s opponents.

Earlier on Sunday, Baird had explained on CTV on Sunday that “what the United States wants to do is ensure there’s a greater level playing field so we can get both parties” to join in negotiations to wind down the civil war.

According to one theory, recent successes by his army might make Assad less inclined to join the talks the U.S. and Russia have been trying to set up in Geneva. U.S. officials say more help for the rebels could shift the balance of power in the fighting and induce Assad to sit down and negotiate.

On another key issue at the G8 summit, Harper said his government supports a move by the host, British Prime Minister David Cameron, to enlist the co-operation of G8 countries to clamp down on tax evasion.

Cameron wants countries to develop registries to prevent individuals or companies from dodging taxes by hiding corporate ownership in shell companies.

“This is a very important initiative by Prime Minister Cameron,” Harper said. “It is important that we do it and we do it together because when we are dealing with tax evasion, we’re dealing with problems that cross borders.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Harper said the only reservation that Canada will bring to the table is that “we’re going to have to consult with our provinces.”

Harper and Kenny discussed trade, immigration and historical ties between Canada and Ireland in their closed-door meeting at Ireland’s official guest house in the outskirts of Dublin. On Monday, Harper travels to Lough Erne in Northern Ireland to join the other G8 leaders in their summit.

MORE: Egypt cuts diplomatic ties, calls for no-fly zone

Read more about: