Ukraine can strike at Russian territory with weapons provided by Canada, as Ottawa has not voiced any conditions in this regard to Kyiv.
This statement was made at a press conference by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, RBC-Ukraine reports.
"We believe that this issue is very important. Minister (of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Tobias Billström - Ed.) and I had the opportunity to talk about it. After that, we are going to NATO and will certainly discuss this topic," Joly said.
The Canadian foreign minister said that her country believes that in this matter, it is necessary to focus on the future, because Russia has no ‘red lines’.
"That's why we have to be sure that when it comes to protecting Ukraine, we are ready to help them and show that, despite what is happening, we are on their side. And there are no conditions for Canada to supply weapons to Ukraine, and so we will continue to work with the Ukrainian armed forces," Joly said.
Strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons. What is the position of the allies?
- Recently, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on allies supplying weapons to Ukraine to lift the ban on their use to strike military targets in Russia.
- The allies' positions are divided. For example, Italian officials opposed Stoltenberg's idea. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also opposed it, and Belgium said that its F-16 fighters should be used by Kyiv only on its own territory.
- French President Emmanuel Macron supported Stoltenberg's initiative. Sweden's defence minister and Finnish foreign minister have also called for Ukraine to be allowed to use their weapons against targets in Russia, while Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the West should stop constantly limiting its support for Ukraine and allow strikes against military targets in Russia.
- Earlier this month, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said that there are states that provide aid to Kyiv without prohibiting it from attacking Russian territory.