Ukraine’s Zelensky urges Canada to be ready to impose preventive sanctions against Russia
The West should be ready for the immediate introduction of a preventive package of sanctions against Russia to counter the Kremlin’s aggressive intentions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Tuesday phone call with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
“The position of Western countries in the dialogue with Russia must remain firm and decisive,” Zelensky’s press service quoted him as saying.
“It is necessary to be ready for the immediate introduction of a preventive package of sanctions against Russia to counter the Kremlin’s aggressive intentions,” the president said.
The Ukrainian president said that the country’s Euro-Atlantic course remains unchanged. He also expressed confidence that Canada will continue to provide full support to Ukraine on its path to membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“No one but Ukraine and NATO should influence the process of our integration with the alliance,” Zelensky said.
On Dec. 17, Russia issued a formal list of demands, including a ban on Ukraine joining NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at a briefing on Dec. 17, emphasized that “any dialogue with Moscow would also need to address NATO’s concerns about Russia’s actions, be based on core principles and documents of European security, and take place in consultation with NATO’s European partners, such as Ukraine.”
“There will be no talks on European security without our European allies and partners,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told journalists on Dec. 17.
In turn, Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a press conference Dec. 23 refused to give a guarantee of non-aggression against Ukraine. He said the Kremlin’s actions would depend on an “absolute guarantee of Russia’s security.”
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