(Vestmannaeyjar) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined leaders of the Nordic countries in a statement on Monday aimed at increasing cooperation between like-minded partners, but also aimed at reaffirming their support for Ukraine.
The leaders also expressed concerns about the potential effects of the short-lived weekend uprising in Russia. But Mr Trudeau said it was too early to predict what this means for the war in Ukraine.
“I think everyone has a lot of questions about what it actually means, but we don’t have a lot of answers yet. And too much speculation right now, I think, could probably be hugely counterproductive,” Trudeau said at a joint news conference with the other Nordic prime ministers Monday in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, where he was. the special guest of the annual meeting.
“What we do, as we always will, is discuss possible challenges and possible consequences for our own security, for the security of our people, for global stability. This is our biggest concern. »
A brief armed revolt in Russia by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin featured prominently during the two-day meeting in Iceland, putting security at the top of the agenda for Nordic countries, including neighboring Finland. Russia.
Trudeau and the other leaders maintained on Monday that this conflict was an internal matter that Russia must resolve, while reaffirming their support for Ukraine.
“Obviously this is an internal problem that Russia needs to solve. But we must stand firm, continuing to be strong, for Ukraine, for the rules-based order,” Trudeau said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who regularly criticizes top Russian generals, led his troops on Saturday through several Russian cities, heading for Moscow, but suddenly changed his mind, following an alleged deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin , which provides for his exile in Belarus.
Russian state media reported on Monday airing a video of Sergei Shoigu, the country’s defense minister, targeted by the Prigozhin rebellion, showing him inspecting troops in Ukraine. It was the first time the minister had been seen on video since the revolt.
Sweden in NATO
The Icelandic meeting took place before the annual summit of NATO leaders, scheduled for mid-July in Lithuania. Sweden’s candidacy for the Atlantic Alliance, which Canada supports, was also discussed at the summit in Iceland.
Trudeau met privately with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the sidelines of the summit on Monday. “Ulf, Canadians are proud that we were the first to ratify your NATO membership. There is still a lot of work to do, we have to make sure we get you into Vilnius in a few weeks,” Trudeau told his counterpart Kristersson.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday he would convene an urgent meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden’s membership. the military alliance.
NATO needs the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too soft on groups Ankara says pose a threat to its security, including Kurdish militant groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.
Nordic leaders met in Iceland, the site of a volcanic eruption in 1973, around the theme of “societal resilience”. They said that sentiment persists amid the current geopolitical turmoil and the challenges raised by climate change.
Scientists warn that the Arctic Ocean is experiencing some of the most acute effects of global warming. Defense experts add that melting ice is opening new access to the region, but they point out that aggressive powers like Russia and China are taking notice.
After his day of meetings and the traditional “family photo”, Mr. Trudeau was to visit a geothermal power plant and a carbon capture and storage company, Carbfix, in the company of Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
Canada is seeking to increase its capacity in carbon capture and storage technology, particularly in Western Canada, to significantly reduce emissions from its oil and gas region.
In addition to his bilateral meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson on Monday, Justin held talks with Jonas Gahr Stéré, Prime Minister of Norway. He had met the previous day with the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland and Finland, on the first day of the summit.