Prime Minister Mark Carney joined several world leaders on Saturday in announcing a US-backed peace plan in Ukraine requires “more work.”
The statement came as world leaders gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the G20 summit, which the United States is boycotting. Russia and China are also absent.
Before the G20, US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine until November 27 to accept the agreement. A 28-point plan that could end the war. Washington and Moscow worked together to draft a plan that satisfies many Russian President Vladimir PutinRussia's long-standing demands, while simultaneously offering limited security guarantees to Ukraine.
Michael Bociurkiw, a Canadian journalist, global affairs analyst and senior fellow at The Atlantic Council, condemned the plan.
“This is a disaster for Ukraine. If any Ukrainian leader signed up to even part of this so-called plan, it would be the end of Ukraine as we know it, the game would be over for a sovereign Ukraine,” he said.
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One of the points of the plan is the recognition of certain Ukrainian territories as “de facto Russian”.
In a recorded speech posted onlinePresident of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky called the consideration of the plan one of the most difficult moments in Ukrainian history.
“Now Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his online address.
Zelensky “is now in a very, very difficult situation,” Botsyurkiw said. “He will either side with Trump, Ukraine's most important ally, or he will fight for the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine. And, of course, he will choose the latter.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney joined 12 other world leaders in responding to the US plan with a statement.
“We are committed to the principle that borders should not be changed by force. We are also concerned about proposed restrictions on Ukraine's armed forces that would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks,” the statement read in part.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada was attending the summit as Ukraine's partner.
“The core values that guide our country’s foreign policy towards Ukraine are based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, in particular, and respect for geographical borders,” Anand said.
“If we constantly say that we must respect the rule of law and that Ukraine is a sovereign country and that territorial integrity is fundamental, then the natural extension of these three principles is that Ukraine must make decisions about its own future in terms of its territorial integrity, in terms of its borders, in terms of its people.”
G20 leaders will remain in South Africa until the summit ends on Sunday.
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