Justin Trudeau has admitted to being “extremely concerned” about the growing possibility of armed conflict in Ukraine as diplomatic talks stall and Russia makes moves deemed worrisome by the West. The Canadian Prime Minister has not yet specified whether he will provide the weapons requested by Ukraine to defend itself. He explains that he wants to avoid giving “apologies” to the Russians.
“We fear an armed conflict in Ukraine,” acknowledged the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
A gesture of “aggression” on the part of Russia or an “incursion” into Ukrainian territory would be “absolutely unacceptable”, he argued at a press conference, where he took stock of the pandemic.
Talks between Western countries, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia have failed to ease the tensions of recent weeks.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was in Ukraine earlier this week to meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna. She promised them that Canada would offer them additional financial assistance.
Ukraine, for its part, asked Minister Joly that Canada provide it with military equipment to help it defend itself against a possible Russian offensive. Ms. Stefanishyna argued, in an interview with Globe and Mail, that non-lethal equipment and weapons were “essential”.
Justin Trudeau had no answer for him in Ottawa on Wednesday. “One of the things we have seen is that Russia is looking for excuses or reasons to continue and even intensify its aggression against Ukraine”, explained the Prime Minister to justify his hesitation.
“The decision we make will be based on the best interests of the Ukrainian people, as well as what is best to preserve world peace for as long as possible,” said Justin Trudeau.
The British government has for its part announced the dispatch of short-range anti-tank missiles.
The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister also reported to the Globe and Mail that she would like to see Canada, the United States and the European Union impose “preventive” economic sanctions on Russia, in order to increase the cost of the military intervention contemplated by President Vladimir Putin.
Canada is working with its allies on a “diplomatic response”, as well as on economic sanctions “to ensure that Russia respects the people of Ukraine, respects their decision to choose their own government and its direction”, has argues Justin Trudeau.
The United States steps up its efforts
The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, was in turn passing through the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday, before meeting the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavror, on Friday.
Mr. Blinken took the opportunity to summon Russian President Vladimir Putin to choose the “peaceful path” in the Ukrainian crisis.
“I strongly hope that we can stay on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but ultimately it will be President Putin’s decision,” the US secretary of state said, noting that Russia could “very quickly” further increase its troops deployed on the outskirts of Ukraine.
Canadian soldiers on site
Tensions are at their height in the region, with Russia having stationed more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, according to authorities there and the US government. Videos, posted on social networks, also appeared to demonstrate the movement of large numbers of tanks, artillery and troops. Russia has additionally deployed military personnel to Belarus, a close Russian ally and Ukraine’s northern neighbor.
Some 200 Canadian military personnel are in Ukraine as part of Operation Unifier, which has been providing training to Ukrainian soldiers since 2015.
Justin Trudeau did not say whether members of the Canadian Armed Forces would be repatriated in the event of an increasingly apprehended armed conflict. “Contingency plans” are in place, but the Prime Minister did not want to “go into detail”. “We will make the decisions depending on the situation, depending on the actions that could be taken by Russia or others,” he said.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki warned on Tuesday that the state of the situation had reached the “stage where Russia can launch an attack in Ukraine at any time”.
Russian diplomats and their families have reportedly begun to be repatriated from the embassy in Kiev and the consulate in the city of Lviv to Moscow.
Russia is demanding that NATO undertake, by means of a treaty, not to include Ukraine within its alliance. President Putin believes that the country is still part of Russia’s “sphere of influence”. Moscow is also demanding that Western countries cease all military presence in Eastern Europe.
Western countries rejected these conditions. Canada supports Ukraine’s integration into NATO.
With Agence France-Presse