A month after Russia’s departure from the Ukrainian capital region, Canada, unlike dozens of Western countries, has still not reopened its embassy in kyiv. Nor did the Trudeau government send senior officials to Ukraine.
The Trudeau government confirmed that the return of the Canadian delegation was in its plans, but did not give a specific date.
L ‘purpose of Canada will reopen the embassy in the next few days, weeksFederal Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said last week, adding that the government was studying scenarios at this point.
In an interview with CBC News, Andriy Shevchenko, who was Ukraine’s ambassador to Ottawa until last summer, after serving in the Ukrainian parliament, pleaded for the speedy return of Canadian diplomats to his country.
” Canada was one of the first countries to move the embassy out [du pays]. We don’t want Canada to be the last to return. “
Ten days before the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, Ottawa first suspended its activities at the Canadian embassy in kyiv and opened a temporary office in Lviv, in the northwest of the country. On the first day of the Russian offensive, February 24, Canada moved its diplomatic personnel to Poland.
Cited by the CTV network, Minister Joly insisted last week that Ottawa is closely monitoring what its allies, especially its partners in the Five Eyes secret service alliance (“ Five Eyes “, In English), which also includes the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, citing security requirements.
Testifying before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Global Affairs Canada official Heidi Kutz addressed the country’s chief diplomat on Monday, linking a gradual return of diplomatic presence in Ukraine under appropriate security conditions.
Bloc Québécois MP Stéphane Bergeron asked if this was not a way to postpone the reopening of the embassy indefinitely.
In a war situation, how can we say that the situation will be safe enough for us to be able to do like most of our allies and show concrete support for Ukraine by having an embassy there?he argued.
” Shouldn’t, somehow, reopen [des bureaux diplomatiques] in Lviv as a preliminary step leading to the full reopening of the embassy in Kyiv? “
Nearly thirty countries, mainly European, have already sent their diplomats to the Ukrainian capital. This is notably the case of France and the United Kingdom. I feel like this is the perfect placesaid every day on Sunday The keeper the British ambassador, a few days after his return.
The list continues to grow: on Monday, the Danish embassy reopened its doors, and Sweden announced the reopening of itself within two days. American diplomacy, for its part, has said it hopes for a return at the end of the month.
Despite bombings targeted at the capital region in the first weeks of the Russian offensive, Poland and Georgia have kept their embassies open since the start of the fighting.
No Canadian visits to Kyiv yet
Since Russia’s departure from Ukraine’s capital, nearly twenty foreign leaders and senior leaders have marched there to show their support for Ukraine.
On the other hand, no official from Canada, the country with the second largest Ukrainian diaspora after Russia, has yet arrived there.
When you see a friend in person, an ally […] present in the capital, it means a lotargued Andriy Shevchenko on CBC News.
Interviewed by a CBC News team, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, one of the leaders who visited Ukraine, for his part stressed the importance, for foreign leaders, to see the extent of land damage. He himself went recently to the kyiv region, specifically to Irpin, one of the theaters of abuses attributed to the Russian army of Ukrainians.
” Very different when you make public statements from the comfort of your office. What your own eyes see is very different. “
Asked on the sideline of a car investment announcement in Windsor, Ontario, about a possible visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Trudeau avoided the question, only repeating that Canada support Ukraine.
As you know, we are still in contact with the Ukrainian government to deliver what they need, and we will continue. And we will always seek to contribute in a positive way to help Ukrainians in this fight against Russia’s illegal warhe replied.
However, visiting international community officials generally did not declare their stay for security reasons.
The first to make the trip, the Polish, Czech and Slovenian prime ministers met President Volodymyr Zelensky in mid -March, even before Russian forces left the region.
They were then followed by, among others, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UN Secretary -General Antonio Guterres. The United States, for its part, sent Secretaries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Austin and Antony Blinken, as well as, this weekend, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Ukraine has called for more weapons
Addressing Canada’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Ukraine’s designated ambassador to Ottawa Yuliia Kovaliv, also thanked Ottawa for its assistance, urging it to maintain its support.
We need military help nowhe argued. We hope that the next few weeks will be very important for the defense of our territory, which is why we are urging military support in the coming days and weeks.
He also paid tribute to the House of Commons, where MPs last week voted unanimously in favor of a symbolic motion recognizing that the Russian Federation commits acts of genocide against Ukrainian citizens.
History books praise Canada for its steadfast stand, along with Ukraine, against Russia’s barbaric warhe says. Ukrainians will never forget that Canada was on our side at these dramatic moments in our modern history.
Ms. also pleaded. Kovaliv for Russia to be held accountable for sexual crimes committed by its soldiers, especially those committed against children.
Source: Radio-Canada
