Canada ADVOCATES post-war involvement in Ukraine despite peace talks

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadians want a prolonged role in keeping the peace, even after the Russia-Ukraine war ends.

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   February 20, 2025   |   News   |   3 Comments

 

 

Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine must be included in peace talks initiated by the Trump administration.

“It’s a fundamental principle for Canada, and for the vast majority of our allies, that nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Trudeau told reporters yesterday.

“Ukrainians have been fighting and dying—not just to protect their sovereignty, their territorial integrity—they’re also fighting to protect the rules-based order that keeps us all safe around the world.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, excluding Ukrainian officials.

The meeting follows conversations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, also without Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced his displeasure on Wednesday, making it clear that his countrymen would not accept a peace deal “made behind our backs,” reported CBC News.

He then accused Trump of endorsing a Russian-made “disinformation space,” following Trump comments suggesting Ukraine started the war.

The U.S. president showed little patience for Ukraine’s objections, claiming Zelenskyy “could have made a deal” to prevent the war. He also called on the war-torn nation to hold elections.

Zelenskyy urged Trump’s team to be “more truthful” in peace negotiations moving forward. 

According to the UN human rights office (OHCHR), at least 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been injured or killed since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.

Trudeau, when asked about Trump’s comments yesterday, did not mention the president by name, but did blame Russia for the war.

“We had rules around borders, around not invading your neighbours, that Russia chose deliberately to violate,” he said.

“Canada and our allies are unequivocal in standing up against Vladimir Putin's illegal, immoral, unjust violations of the international order.”

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s defence secretary, says a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is unrealistic.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also chimed in, saying Canadians want a prolonged role in keeping the peace, even after the war ends. “We want to be part of these conversations regarding security guarantees.”

“We want to be part of conversations linked to more Canadians being involved in protecting Ukraine,” Joly said at a virtual conference from Brussels.

Canadians, however, do not share that same enthusiasm, according to Privy Council research, with focus groups questioning the point of $19.5 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Many participants have a “declining personal interest in seeking out information” related to the war, while others preferred reallocating aid to Canadians struggling to make ends meet.

“We can’t let Russia go unchecked,” Joly said, arguing the fighting cannot solely end on Moscow’s terms, suggesting that would further destabilize Europe. Internal Department of Finance polling last year showed that fewer than a third (32%) of Canadians support more financial aid for Ukraine.

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Alex Dhaliwal

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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-02-20 23:18:37 -0500
    Why aren’t Ukrainian officials excluded from these peace deal meetings? It’s obvious that the war is grinding down Ukraine far worse than Russia.
  • Robin Dutton
    commented 2025-02-20 21:42:32 -0500
    Canada once had a proud diplomatic corps. They have since been de-funded for telling the truth about the Ukraine situation.
    This war should never have happened. The papers were on the table ready to sign but no, war at all cost, we’ll show those nasty Russians a thing or two.
    That didn’t work out well for any party.
    Where is Canada in all this? Rah rah kill em all.
  • Robert Pariseau
    commented 2025-02-20 19:47:10 -0500
    Zelenskyy needs to consider himself completely grateful that there is still a “leader” around willing to go to bat for him. And he should also be grateful for the Westminster system, which prevents us from stopping the cheating that is almost certainly going on in the sham of a leadership race. And most important of all, he should thank his lucky stars for Tim Hortons coffee, Molson / Coors beer, and the Four Nations hockey tournament. Take away their hockey and chugs and that’s when they revolt.