Canada Joins Nordic Countries in Statement Supporting US, EU Efforts to End Ukraine War

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has joined her counterparts from several Nordic countries to release a statement outlining their support for recent efforts by the United States and others to end the war in Ukraine.

Canada and the five Nordic countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland said in the Aug. 19 statement that they “welcome the joint efforts by the United States, Ukraine, and Europe to stop the killing, to end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and to achieve just and lasting peace.”

The foreign ministers’ statement comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders met with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine War that has been raging since 2022. The meeting included the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, as well as the heads of NATO and the European Commission.

Trump said following the meeting at the White House that several countries would provide Ukraine with security guarantees, and that a trilateral meeting between himself, Zelenskyy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon be arranged.

Trump added that no American troops would be on the ground in Ukraine to enforce an eventual armistice between Kyiv and Moscow, but that other countries in Europe would deploy military personnel from their countries to support Ukraine.

The joint statement, which was signed in Helsinki, Finland, states that the six countries are ready to play an “active role” in ensuring security guarantees for Ukraine. The countries said there must be “no limitations” on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its ability to cooperate militarily with other countries.

The six countries also said that Ukraine must be involved in peace negotiations and its sovereignty must be respected. The statement said that Russia, which has a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, “does not have a veto” against Ukraine’s joining the European Union or NATO.

While Ukraine has sought to join the defence alliance, Trump recently said there will be “no going into NATO” by Ukraine as part of any peace deal. However, the U.S. president said there could “be some form of security” for the country.

The statement by Canada and the Nordic countries also states that military aid to Ukraine remains a “strategic priority,” that the Ukrainian children “forcibly transferred and unlawfully deported” to Russia must be returned, and that only Ukraine can make decisions concerning its territory.

Noting that Ukraine is preparing to celebrate its 35th anniversary of independence on Aug. 24, the countries said they “reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”

Speaking at a press conference with the other leaders on Aug. 19, Anand said that the countries needed to work on support for Ukraine and security guarantees for the country. 

“The work that the coalition of the willing is doing now is absolutely fundamental to adding the structure around the security guarantees and, in particular, the obligations that each country will adhere to,” she said.