Amid some calls for peace, foreign affairs minister says allied support for Ukraine remains firm
CBC
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada remains firm in its support for Ukraine, even as China inserts itself into the issue with calls for a ceasefire.
"We're all in favour of talking about peace, but if China really wants peace, it needs to say to Russia to get out of Ukraine," Joly said in an interview airing Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live.
Joly told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton that Canada remained committed to helping Ukraine ward off Russian aggression, one year after Putin first ordered his military to invade the country.
"Everything that is going on on the battlefield will have an impact afterwards at the negotiation table. And so the more we're able to help Ukraine defend itself, the more we will be able to put Ukraine in a strong position when it comes to negotiate peace," she said.
China waded into the conflict this week with an official call for peace talks and a ceasefire, a key move from a country which is thought to have significant influence in Moscow and with the resources to profoundly affect the course of the war.
The Chinese proposal also called for the end of Western sanctions on Russia, which Joly dismissed. Canada imposed more sanctions on Friday and announced it would send four more main battle tanks to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautiously welcomed Chinese involvement and said Friday he plans to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
China's intervention comes after U.S. President Joe Biden made a trip to Kyiv earlier this week to reaffirm America's support for Ukraine.
"One year into this war, Putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition, but he still doubts our conviction," Biden said in Warsaw following his journey to the Ukrainian capital.
"But there should be no doubt, our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided and we will not tire."
Poland has been among Ukraine's most important allies, not only sending military equipment to its neighbour but also hosting millions of Ukrainian refugees.
WATCH | Biden, Putin speak as Ukraine war enters second year:
In an interview airing on Rosemary Barton Live, Marcin Przydacz, a top adviser to Polish president Andrzej Duda, said Biden's speech in Warsaw had 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 the dedication to human rights," he said. "On the other side we had dark autocrats, aggressive neo-colonial, neo-imperial Russia, which understands only one language, the language of 'no.'"
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