Zelenskyy calls for pressure on Russia during 1st face-to-face meeting with Carney
CBC
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday to add Canada's weight behind global pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit at the negotiating table and agree to "an unconditional ceasefire."
During the first face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Carney, who secured a mandate in last month's federal election, the Ukrainian president said the pressure on Putin was necessary to "make peace as quick as possible."
The two leaders met in Rome on the eve of Pope Leo XIV's installation and ahead of the G7 summit that Carney is hosting in Kananaskis, Alta., from June 15 to 17.
"There can be no peace without the full support and participation of Ukraine," Carney told Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian president has accepted Carney's invitation to attend the G7 meetings, which are being held amid mounting activity around finding a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine — which began when Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
Carney also held bilateral meetings with European leaders to personally lay the groundwork for the summit — one of the main purposes of his first overseas trip.
The Liberal prime minister met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is also attending the G7, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who hosted last year's G7 summit. She greeted Carney at the Chigi Palace in Rome with the playing of the Canadian national anthem and acknowledged this has not been an easy moment for Canada.
"Truly with the partnership between Italy, your leadership, our partnership, we can bring the G7 to a new level where we build on our values and we deliver prosperity for our citizens," Carney told Meloni.
Carney's meeting with Zelenskyy came against the backdrop of high-stakes peace talks in Turkey that failed to secure a truce but did lead to a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he plans to speak separately to Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday in an effort to reach a ceasefire.
Pope Leo, who was elected pontiff on May 8 following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, is also offering the Vatican as a venue for future peace talks.
Carney reiterated Canada's support for Ukraine, but he did not provide details on what that would entail under his government.
Roland Paris, director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, said Carney is "laying down markers" that Canada will continue to be a steadfast ally of Ukraine.
"That's a really important relationship for him to continue to build because it's going to be complicated in the years to come," Paris said.
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