Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax on Saturday during a stopover before heading to the U.S. to meet with President Donald Trump for talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, we have the conditions, the possibility of a just and lasting peace,” Carney told reporters before he and Zelenskyy left for their bilateral meeting.
The prime minister also announced an additional $2.5 billion of economic aid for Ukraine.
According to a news release from the Prime Minister’s Office, about $1.6 billion of the newly announced aid comes in the form of loan guarantees to the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The remainder of the aid includes financing that will allow the International Monetary Fund to lend Ukraine more money, and Canada will participate in an “extended and expanded debt service suspension for Ukraine,” the PMO news release said.
Zelenskyy’s Canadian visit comes after he spoke with Carney by phone on Friday. The Prime Minister’s Office released an advisory early Saturday confirming the meeting, which began at about 1 p.m. AT.
The wartime leader said in a statement that he updated the prime minister “on the status of our diplomatic efforts with the United States” to bring the war in Ukraine to an end after Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Zelenskyy is set to discuss a 20-point plan for peace with Trump, likely at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday.
WATCH | Consensus reached between U.S.-Ukraine on ending Russia-Ukraine war:
U.S., Ukraine reach consensus on some key issues to end war with Russia: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country and the United States have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the conflict with Russia — but sensitivities around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland and the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remain unresolved.
“In the coming days, much can be accomplished both bilaterally between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our Coalition of the Willing partners,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the 35-nation group of Ukraine-friendly countries that includes Canada.
“It is critical that we jointly and constructively bolster Ukraine’s ability to protect life, reinforce our front-line positions and enhance the effectiveness of the negotiation process. Right now, it is Russia that is dragging its feet and trying to waste time.”
According to a readout of the call from the PMO, Carney commended Zelenskyy for his “continued efforts to secure a just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine, and the courage of the Ukrainian people as they face another winter of Russian aggression.”
“The prime minister affirmed Canada’s commitment to Ukraine throughout these negotiations and emphasized the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate,” the PMO said in a statement on Friday.
Security guarantees on agenda with Trump
Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he and Trump will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks.
An “economic agreement” will also be discussed, Zelenskyy said, adding that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized by the end.”
The Ukrainian side will also raise “territorial issues,” he said.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected. Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70 per cent of Donetsk — the two areas that make up the Donbas.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, but only if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.
WATCH | The 20-point peace plan laid out by Zelenskyy:
Zelenskyy open to demilitarized zone as part of peace plan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy laid out a 20-point peace plan that negotiators from Ukraine and the U.S. broadly hammered out recently. Zelenskyy conceded he would be open to making the Donetsk region a demilitarized, free economic zone monitored by international forces.
Zelenskyy said on Friday that a potential U.S.-Ukraine agreement is “90 per cent ready,” acknowledging territorial questions have been the biggest sticking point in these peace talks.
“Our goal is to bring everything to 100 per cent,” he said. “That is not easy.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the Kremlin has been in contact with U.S. representatives since Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev recently met with American envoys in Florida.
“It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue,” Peskov said.
