Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to Europe on Sunday to “reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Minister Joly will meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv. She will travel to France and Belgium to meet her counterparts, as well as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The Russian troops massed in Ukraine are “threatening the security of the region”, said Mélanie Joly, in a press release. “Russia must be deterred from continuing these aggressive actions,” she argued.
Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Vladimir Putin’s government could face new Western sanctions, due to growing tensions. About 100,000 Russian troops are near the Ukrainian border, stoking fears of an upcoming Russian invasion.
During her visit, Mélanie Joly will meet the troops taking part in a NATO training mission in Ukraine, Operation Unifer, made up of 200 Canadian soldiers. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Canada to extend this military contribution, which is due to end in March.
“We are proud that Canada is leading a NATO mission in the Baltic States in Latvia,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday. We are participating in Operation Unifier on the ground in Ukraine, training Ukrainian soldiers. We will continue to be there to be part of our NATO allies with our friends in the region. »
In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, after the ousting of its pro-Moscow leader.
With The Canadian Press