Carney visits Ukraine as Canada weighs sending soldiers to aid in peacekeeping
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Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasised the importance of training and weapons for Ukrainian troops.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OTTAWA/KYIV – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in Kyiv, the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Aug 24. This marks his first visit to Ukraine as Canada’s Prime Minister, as his government says it may be prepared to join peacekeeping efforts led by European allies.
“On this special day – Ukraine’s Independence Day – it is especially important for us to feel the support of our friends. And Canada has always stood by us,” Mr Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Canada is a member of the coalition of about 30 nations, led by France and Britain, that have pledged to defend Ukraine in its war against Russia
The cohort is pushing for robust security guarantees in the event of a peace deal with Russia, with some member nations committing to deploy troops to enforce any agreement.
Canada is not ruling out participating in such an effort if the coalition agrees to it, a senior government official said in a background briefing with reporters.
The comments come after Mr Carney on Aug 22 emphasised the importance of training and weapons for Ukrainian troops.
“There has to be security on the land, in the air and in the sea. There’s a role – potential – for the members of the coalition to provide support for all of those elements. We’ll see what role Canada might play within that broader group,” he said at a news conference.
“It’s a fluid situation. It’s a delicate situation,” Mr Carney added. “Any security guarantee starts with a robust Ukrainian army and that means weapons, that means training, that means viability.”
Canada lacks the capacity to send a significant number of soldiers, and its support to date has focused on training Ukrainian forces and providing billions in financial aid.
Its small military faces a shortfall of qualified members and is already stretched thin from responding to domestic emergencies and maintaining a brigade in Latvia.
The US has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine but has signalled openness to deploying US air defence systems
Still, major hurdles remain to reaching a peace deal – including that the Kremlin is demanding that Kyiv cede control over vast swathes of eastern Ukraine and has rejected the prospect of Nato troops on Ukrainian soil.
Mr Carney is visiting Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, a timing that is meant to convey Canada’s staunch support of the country’s sovereignty, the government official said.
He will meet President Zelensky and outline details of C$2 billion (S$1.85 billion) in support pledged during the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in June.
Canada has long been a military-spending laggard, but Mr Carney is joining European leaders in promising major new investments amid Russia’s aggression and the US pullback from traditional defence alliances.
He signed a security partnership with the European Union in June that marked a first step towards Canada jointly procuring equipment with the bloc’s nations.
Mr Carney also expects on Aug 24 to advance a bilateral security agreement reached with Ukraine in 2024. He will then travel to Warsaw, Berlin and Riga, Latvia, where he will meet government officials and business leaders to promote Canada’s burgeoning defence sector and its critical minerals, nuclear and aerospace industries. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
