Canada shares draft plan for security assurances for Ukraine

Canada has sent a draft of its plans for security assurances for Ukraine, said Natalka Cmoc, the Canadian ambassador to Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda published on Jan. 15.

Ukraine's efforts to gain security guarantees from its Western allies have picked up speed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The Group of Seven (G7) members presented their long-term security commitments for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius last July, which entailed explicit and long-lasting obligations, as well as bolstering Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bilateral security agreement on Jan. 12, which Zelensky characterized as "unprecedented." It was the first of the G7 commitments to be finalized.

Cmoc said the document contained Canada's plan for "security assurances," not "guarantees."

Canada has already pledged long-term assistance to Ukraine, she said, adding that the document finalizes such a commitment on paper.

It is still a draft, and Cmoc said more detailed negotiations are upcoming in the following weeks.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek