(Ottawa) Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada would join its allies in imposing tough sanctions on Russian officials if the country takes further military action to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty.
Posted at 8:29
Updated at 8:49 a.m.
Russia has positioned around 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders, along with tanks and other heavy artillery, stoking fears in Europe about a possible invasion, but Russia has denied having intend to do so.
“The recently launched diplomatic process offers Russia two options: it can choose a meaningful dialogue or […] serious consequences,” said Mr.me Joly, Thursday, in Brussels, where she met her counterpart from the European Union Josep Borrell.
“We of course appreciate the collaboration of the EU on many deterrent measures, including economic ones. Canada will be ready to take additional measures, particularly with regard to the financial sector. »
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he expected Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, but would pay “a heavy price”.
Mme Joly and Mr. Borrell were pressed on whether they agreed with Mr. Biden’s remark that a “minor incursion” by Russia would result in less of a response. Mr Biden tried to clarify the comment, saying it was referring to a non-military action such as a cyberattack and that if Russia launched a military attack, “it would change everything”.
Mr Borrell indicated Mr Biden’s formulation was “nothing new” and said allies would respond in a way that would be “very costly for Russia”.
“If there is any aggression against Ukraine […], President Biden’s warning goes in exactly the same direction that we’ve been working in,” Borrell said. “A threat is a threat. »
Mme Joly referred to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its fomenting of Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, when she replied, “Let me be clear, First, Russia is already in Ukraine. We are talking about a real threat of another invasion of Ukraine. So in that sense, as my colleague just mentioned, a threat is a threat. »
Mme Joly is due to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg later on Thursday as she wraps up her three-country tour that included stops in Ukraine and France.
Mme Joly had nothing new to say about whether Canada would respond to requests from Ukraine to provide weapons and military equipment. She said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was considering “a range of options” based on information she was gathering this week.
M’s journeyme Joly unfolds as other high profile meetings take place across Europe this week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Berlin on Thursday for meetings with German, French and British officials, a group known as the Trans-Atlantic Quad, which is playing a leading role in defusing the crisis.
Mr Blinken has been invited to a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council early next week, a spokesman for the bloc said.