Ukraine can't negotiate with 'gun to head,' says Joly as Trudeau presses allies
Canada's foreign affairs minister called for a ceasefire in Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, arguing the Ukrainian government needs the breathing room as it heads into talks with the Putin regime.
"We need to make sure to support Ukrainians while diplomatic talks are happening by imposing maximum pressure... it's more than that. Because when we do so, we actually give them a lever to negotiate," Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in an interview Wednesday.
"Right now, it's not about a diplomatic solution. It's about saving lives and so that's why it's a humanitarian corridor...and there needs to be a ceasefire," she added.
"Because you can't negotiate when you have a gun to your head."
Earlier Wednesday, Joly spoke with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, before he headed to Turkey for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
It was one of three conversations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his cabinet had with four members of the embattled and defiant Ukrainian government hunkered down in Kyiv.
The conversations happened from Berlin, where Trudeau was on the third day of his four-country European tour as the Russian war on Ukraine, which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says has now killed more than 400 civilians, ended its second week.
At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg used an address to a Canadian defence conference to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
"Whatever happens in the months ahead, whatever Moscow seeks to achieve through violence and aggression, it will fail. It is failing already," Stoltenberg told participants while appearing virtually at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute event.
"President Putin wants to snuff out the flame of freedom and democracy in Ukraine. But however dark the coming days and weeks may be, the flame will continue to burn. Europe and North America will help keep that flame alive."
On Wednesday, a Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol, leaving more than a dozen wounded. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the bombing an "atrocity" on Twitter and said there were children "under the wreckage" of the airstrike.
There had been several failed attempts to follow through on ceasefires that would have let civilians flee Mariupol and other heavily bombed areas.
Hours before the attack, Trudeau spoke to Zelensky and said the Ukrainian leader accepted an invitation to address Canada's Parliament. He addressed the British Parliament by video link Tuesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is also the finance minister, said she spoke to her two counterparts, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, on Wednesday.
Trudeau told an international audience Wednesday there needs to be a recommitment to democracy in the face of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"At its best, democracy is always stronger than authoritarianism," Trudeau said in a speech to the Munich Security Conference, a Berlin-based international think tank.
"But if we're going to be honest with each other, democracy hasn't exactly been at its best these past few years," he added. "Even as we're fighting Putin's invasion, we need to recommit ourselves to the work of strengthening our democracies."
Trudeau praised Zelensky in his speech, which was a sequel of sorts to the 2017 address he gave in Hamburg, Germany, that outlined his foreign-policy vision, and his often-professed faith in the rules-based international order.
"President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people who are demonstrating so much courage and resilience -- they're not only defending their country, they're defending the democratic values that are so important to all of us," said Trudeau.
"They're standing up to authoritarianism. And Canada and Germany stand with them."
Zelensky said on Twitter that his conversation with Trudeau on Wednesday was focused on how to increase sanctions and pressure on Russia.
It was Trudeau's first conversation with the Ukrainian leader in six days.
Freeland and Joly joined Trudeau for the speech and spoke to reporters afterwards outside the venue near the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's famed symbol of peace and freedom.
Joly told reporters Wednesday that "more sanctions are coming, and you'll have more information" to keep "maximum pressure" on Russia.
Freeland called the maternity hospital bombing an "atrocity" and said "all of us in our government are in very close contact with our Ukrainian partners...and we're very aware of what's happening."
Freeland said when she looks at pictures of the carnage, "I have to stop looking at them. It is an atrocity what is happening in Ukraine. And I think a person would have to have a heart of stone to not be moved."
Trudeau met earlier with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and their talks focused on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and a desire to end the war without further escalation.
- WATCH: Hundreds of Ukrainian children escape to Polish shelter
- Latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis
- The nations now on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list
Trudeau also announced Wednesday Canada would send another $50 million in specialized equipment, including Canadian-made cameras for surveillance drones, to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion.
Canada previously said it was shipping non-lethal equipment such as body vests and helmets, as well as more than $10 million in weapons such as machine-guns, rocket launchers and hand grenades.
Trudeau acknowledged getting the equipment into Ukraine has not been easy.
"There are challenges at the borders in terms of getting equipment securely across and into Ukrainian hands," he said. "But we are working through that with partners alongside all allies who are facing the logistical challenges that are real, but not insurmountable."
Trudeau opened the day visiting Berlin's Platform 17, a memorial that marks the railway station where 50,000 Jews were deported to ghettos and labour and concentration camps during the Holocaust.
The visit was poignant given that Putin, the Russian president, has falsely justified his attack on Ukraine because he says he is trying to save the country from Nazis.
Zelensky is Jewish.
Under a crisp blue morning sky, Trudeau walked solemnly along the station's steel platform accompanied by a small entourage that included a guide, Joly and Canada's ambassador to Germany, Stephane Dion.
Trudeau paused silently for a few moments after laying flowers near a plaque at the end of the platform and made the sign of the cross before leaving. He did not speak to reporters.
Trudeau will also be meeting with U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris in Poland on Thursday evening to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2022.
-- with files from Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa.
------
Get in touch
Are you in Ukraine? Do you have family in Ukraine? Are you or your family affected? Email dotcom@bellmedia.ca.
- Please include your name, location, and contact information if you are willing to speak to a journalist with CTV News.
- Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
Local Spotlight
Montreal photographer captures dramatic Canada Goose vs. fox fight on video
Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada Goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Beyond books: Halifax libraries lends instruments, sports equipment, memory kits and more
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
'A special bird': The unbreakable bond between purple martins and humans
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
7-year-old Pokémon prodigy heading to Hawaii for world championship tournament
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
From DVDs to rehearsals: Halifax theatre company transforms Video Difference building into arts hub
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.