(Dan Tri) – Canada’s minister said that the country is open to the possibility of sending soldiers to Ukraine, but emphasized that if this were to happen, Ottawa’s soldiers would not be on direct combat duty.
Canadian soldiers (Photo: The Globe and Mail).
Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair stated that Canada is open to the possibility of sending a limited number of military personnel to Ukraine to assist in training the Kiev army as long as this operation takes place away from the front lines with a clear role.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Mr. Blair said he discussed the idea on February 26 at a conference in Paris with NATO allies.
After the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron also left open the possibility of sending troops into Ukraine.
Mr. Macron stated that although there is no consensus within NATO to officially send troops to Ukraine, any option should not be ruled out to ensure Russia cannot win the war.
After many NATO leaders announced there were no plans to send troops to Ukraine, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu clarified that discussions focused on military training or demining operations,
Canada affirmed that it has `no plans to deploy combat troops` to Ukraine.
Additionally, a security agreement between Canada and Ukraine signed late last week stipulates that Canada can conduct training activities in Ukraine `when conditions permit.`
`I don’t want to bring members of the Canadian Armed Forces near the battlefield because that could be interpreted as us being part of a combat mission,` Blair told the Toronto Star.
He said the Canadian military currently has a small-scale presence in Ukraine but only for the purpose of protecting diplomatic facilities.
Russia has issued warnings about the risk of NATO members sending troops into Ukraine.
Many NATO countries later also rejected the plan to send troops to Ukraine such as Sweden, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, USA, UK, Italy, and Spain.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne suggested that the country’s military could take on a non-combat role in Ukraine instead of participating in the war, such as `clearing mines, defending networks, and producing weapons locally on the territory.`
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Alliance has no plans to send combat troops to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, on February 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned countries deploying troops to support Ukraine about the risk of global nuclear war.
`The West must understand that we also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory. However, all this could actually entail a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons
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