OTTAWA—A Liberal MP says Canada and Russia will hold a joint conference on Arctic co-operation next month in Ottawa, despite differences over Syria and Ukraine.

Pam Goldsmith-Jones, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, announced the event today in a speech at Carleton University in Ottawa, where the November conference will be held.

Goldsmith-Jones says Canada profoundly disagrees with Russia’s conduct in Ukraine and Syria.

But she says keeping their respective scientists apart would make no sense, given the shared interests the two countries have in the Arctic.

Russia is backing separatist rebels in Ukraine’s east after annexing its Crimea region in 2014, while its military is backing Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country’s long-running civil war.

Goldsmith-Jones was standing in for Dion, who was called away to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Jerusalem for Friday’s funeral for Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.

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