Vladimir Putin wants to “wait out and grind down” NATO, but that won’t happen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
Trudeau made the declaration Wednesday at the military alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he also announced Canada will train Ukrainian officer cadets at the Royal Military College in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.
“Vladimir Putin wants to wait out and grind down the alliance, grind down Ukrainians,” he told reporters.
“Well, he’s not going to be able to because we will be there for as long as it takes, and that’s what these security assurances are all about.”
Trudeau was referring to a joint G7 declaration made earlier in the day that lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term.
The announcement came as NATO leaders launched a new forum for deepening ties with Ukraine, known as the NATO-Ukraine Council. It’s intended to serve as a permanent body where the alliance’s 31 members and Ukraine can hold consultations and call for meetings in emergency situations.
The setting is part of NATO’s effort to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the military alliance without actually joining it. On Tuesday, the leaders said in a communique summarizing the summit’s conclusions that Ukraine can join “when allies agree and conditions are met.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the G7 initiative as a bridge toward eventual NATO membership, and a deterrent against Russia.
Ukraine has been locked in a full-scale conflict with Russia since the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. After repelling the initial invasion, the warring nations have been tied down in bloody conflicts in the eastern part of the country, with Ukraine currently carrying out counteroffensive operations.
“The key to the G7 commitment is that these are security assurances that are about countries being there with Ukraine and for Ukraine for years to come,” Trudeau said.
“In regards to Canada, we will be discussing and working on the next steps on how to announce the details of our multi-year commitment, but part of the G7 commitment is that they will be coming.”
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To date, the government said it’s committed more than $1.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. With that, it said the Canadian Armed Forces has trained more than 37,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel in battlefield tactics and advanced military skills since the start of Operation UNIFIER in 2015.
The officer cadet training at the Royal Military College in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., will be an intensive training program developed in partnership with NATO, Trudeau said.
Earlier in the week, Trudeau announced it was expanding its NATO contribution in Latvia by committing up to 2,200 Canadian Armed Forces members in the coming years as the NATO battlegroup ramps up to become a brigade.
Ukraine’s future NATO membership was the most divisive and emotionally charged issue at this year’s summit.
In essence, western countries are willing to keep sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job that NATO was designed to do — hold the line against a Russian invasion — but not allow Ukraine to join its ranks and benefit from its security during the war.
U.S. President Joe Biden has explicitly said he doesn’t think Ukraine is ready to join NATO. There are concerns that the country’s democracy is unstable and its corruption remains too deeply rooted.
Under Article 5 of the NATO charter, members are obligated to defend each other from attack, which could swiftly draw the U.S. and other nations into direct fighting with Russia.
Defining an end to hostilities is no easy task. Officials have declined to define the goal, which could suggest a negotiated ceasefire or Ukraine reclaiming all occupied territory. Either way, Putin would essentially have veto power over Ukraine’s NATO membership by prolonging the conflict.
“The results of the summit are good, but if there were an invitation, that would be ideal,” Zelenskyy said through a translator Wednesday.
He added that joining NATO would be “a serious motivating factor for Ukrainian society” at it resists Russia.
— with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
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