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Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada remains committed to supporting Ukraine, even as China intervenes in the matter by calling for a ceasefire.
“We all like to talk about peace, but if China really wants peace, it should tell Russia to get out of Ukraine,” Joly said in an interview that aired Sunday. Rosemary Barton Live.
Joly told CBC political correspondent Rosemary Barton that Canada remains committed to helping Ukraine fight Russian aggression, a year after Putin ordered his military to invade the country.
“Everything that happens on the battlefield will have an impact on the negotiating table. And the more we can help Ukraine defend itself, the more we will be able to put Ukraine in a strong position when it comes to peace negotiations,” he said.
China waded into the conflict this week with a formal call for peace talks and a ceasefire, a key step from a country seen as having significant influence in Moscow and the resources to influence the course of the war.
The Chinese proposal also called for an end to Western sanctions against Russia, which Joly rejected. Canada imposed more sanctions on Friday and announced it would send four main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed the Chinese involvement and said on Friday that he plans to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
NATO support remains strong, Biden said
China’s intervention comes after US President Joe Biden traveled to Kyiv earlier this week to reaffirm American support for Ukraine.
“One year into this war, Putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition, but he still doubts our confidence,” Biden said in Warsaw after a trip to the Ukrainian capital.
“But there is no doubt, our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided and we will not tire.”
Poland has become one of Ukraine’s most important allies, not only sending military equipment to its neighbor but also hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees.
WATCH | Biden, Putin speak as Ukraine war enters second year:
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of fueling the war in Ukraine and threatened to pull out of the nuclear deal, while US President Joe Biden promised Russia would not experience victory in Ukraine.
In the interview aired on Rosemary Barton LiveMarcin Przydacz, top adviser to Polish president Andrzej Duda, said Biden’s speech in Warsaw has been an important rallying call for the Western alliance backing Ukraine.
“There is a division between the free world, based on rules based on our values and dedication to human rights,” he said. “On the other side we have the dark autocrat, aggressive neo-colonial, neo-imperial Russia, who knows only one language, the language of ‘no’.”
Przydacz said Poland will continue to push additional military aid to Ukraine, including in the form of artillery and air defense systems, but admits there are some difficulties in meeting Ukrainian requests for fighter jets, especially around training and maintenance.
“We will be ready to do it in a broader coalition if it will be the need from the Ukrainian side and the readiness of the Western side,” he said.
Domestic pressure
Biden’s trip and China’s intervention come as some domestic voices grow louder about the need for peace, or an end to military aid to Ukraine.
In Canada, Green Party leader Jonathan Pedneault told CBC Radio House that the party supports limiting the type of weapons the country sends to support Ukraine.
“Do we have a guarantee that the war will stop on the Russian border if the territory is recaptured?” to the host Catherine Cullen, arguing that Canada should push for the beginning of peace talks.
CBC News: Home11:17 a.mThe Green Party calls for peace
Politicians in Canada have largely united in support of Canada’s efforts to send military aid and weapons to Ukraine, but the Green Party is now also pushing for peace talks with Russia. Co-leader of the Green Party Jonathan Pedneault discussed whether the party’s stance is wise or practical and whether he believes it is time to stop sending some weapons to Ukraine.
In the United States, some voices are even more critical of NATO’s broader approach to war.
Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis criticized what he called the “blank check policy.” US Representative Matt Gaetz also introduced the “Ukraine Exhaustion Resolution” calling for the US to end military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Impact of destruction in Ukraine, global food supply
A year of war in Ukraine has left millions of Ukrainians displaced from their homes, as Russia continues to target civilian infrastructure.
The UN estimates that more than eight million people have fled Ukraine, while millions more are internally displaced.
The war also had a major impact on the global food supply, as Ukraine’s exports helped feed 400 million people before the war ended.
The World Food Programme’s chief economist, Arif Husain, said the damage to Ukraine and the expiry of the deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are a serious risk.
“[The Black Sea deal] must continue not only for Ukraine but for the world,” said Barton.
Ahead of talks to extend the deal, Hussein said the arrangement should be made permanent.
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