BERLIN — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a standing invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to address Canada’s Parliament one day.
Trudeau spoke to Zelensky from Berlin on Wednesday ahead of his meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the NATO alliance continues to pressure Russia to end its invasion in Ukraine.
"Talked to my friend @JustinTrudeau about UACA defense co-operation and how to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. Agreed on further diplomatic steps. Canada stands with Ukraine. We feel it every day," the Ukrainian leader said on Twitter on Wednesday.
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It was Trudeau’s first conversation with the Ukrainian leader in six days. Trudeau has praised Zelensky’s resilience and leadership as his forces try to fend off an invasion by the largest military in Europe.
"The Prime Minister shared that Canada will be sending Ukraine another shipment of highly specialized military equipment," Trudeau’s office said in a statement.
"The Prime Minister also invited President Zelensky to address Canadian Parliament, and the President accepted the invitation. We continue constant work with our allies and international partners to hold Russia accountable for its unjustifiable and illegal invasion of Ukraine."
A senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment on the record, said the new equipment would include technology for surveillance drones.
The call came 14 days after Russian troops began pouring into Ukraine in an invasion the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says has now killed more than 400 civilians.
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On Tuesday, Zelensky released a new video showing him standing near the presidential offices in Kyiv in front of piles of sandbags, a few cars and a snow-dusted fir tree.
"Snow fell. It’s that kind of springtime," he said, softly. "You see, it’s that kind of wartime, that kind of springtime. Harsh. But we will win."
It was Zelensky’s second video in 24 hours showing him near the country’s seat of power, apparently made to dispel any doubts about whether he had fled the city.
After the call, Trudeau paid a sombre visit to Berlin’s Platform 17, a memorial that marks the railway station where 50,000 Jews were deported to ghettos, labour and concentration camps during the Holocaust.
The visit was poignant given that Russian President Vladimir Putin 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 made a solemn walk along the station’s steel platform accompanied by a small entourage that included a guide, Canada’s German ambassador Stéphane Dion and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
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.
Later, Trudeau and Scholz will have their first conversation in person since Scholz replaced longtime chancellor Angela Merkel in December.
The discussions will likely include military spending and energy security.
Trudeau is also set to give a foreign policy speech to the Munich Security Conference in Berlin.
Scholz said last month Germany would finally increase its military spending to hit the two per cent of GDP target NATO allies committed to eight years ago and Trudeau is under pressure to follow suit.
The decision was significant change of foreign policy for Germany from what has been essentially a pacifist military posture since the Second World War.
Germany and Europe are also looking for alternative sources of oil and gas to cut their dependence on Russian fossil fuel exports.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky react at the University of Toronto during the Ukraine Reform Conference in Toronto on July 2, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj
