Canadaʼs ambassador to Ukraine: Canada sent Ukraine a draft agreement on “security assurances”

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Canada sent the draft agreement on security cooperation between the countries to the Office of the President of Ukraine — a similar agreement was recently signed by Ukraine and Great Britain. The document on "security assurances" between Ukraine and Canada can be agreed in a few weeks.

Natalka Tsmots, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, stated this in an interview with Evropeyska Pravda.

The Canadian side sent a copy of the draft agreement to the deputy head of the OPU Igor Zhovka last Friday with the aim of "starting more detailed negotiations in order to finish the negotiations between the countries in a few weeks."

Tsmots clarified that in Ottawaʼs opinion, these should not be "security guarantees", but an agreement on "security assurances". However, Tsmots does not see any problems in this term, because such an approach is common to the member countries of the Group of Seven (G7), and the adoption of such a security agreement will correspond to the agreements of the leaders of the two countries.

The ambassador said that in September 2023 , during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that "Canada seeks to put on paper its obligations regarding long-term support — so that Ukraine can be sure of the predictability of such support in the future.".

  • On January 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak signed a security agreement, which will be valid for 10 years or until Ukraine joins NATO.
  • In total , the agreement consists of nine parts. Great Britain provides comprehensive assistance for the protection and restoration of territorial integrity in the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, including the territorial sea and the free economic (maritime) zone, the reconstruction of the national economy and the protection of citizens, prevents and counters any military escalation and/or new aggression from on the part of Russia, and also supports Ukraineʼs future integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, in particular by supporting Ukraineʼs reform plans and compatibility with NATO. Britain, in turn, expects many reforms from Ukraine.