Ukraine must be part of any talks about its future, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, after U.S. and Russian officials held high-level talks in Saudi Arabia that excluded Kyiv.
“It’s a fundamental principle for Canada and for the vast majority of our allies … Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Trudeau said ahead of a meeting on the conflict and European security hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trudeau also pushed back against comments from President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday echoed many of Russia’s talking points on the three-year war in Ukraine, blaming Kyiv for having “started” the fighting.
“We had rules around borders, around not invading your neighbours that Russia chose deliberately to violate a number of years ago,” Trudeau said.
“And that puts at risk, not just Ukrainians’ ability to determine their own future, it puts at risk all of our democracies, all of the rules that keep us safe and prosperous.”
