Canada can and should be more engaged in de-escalation efforts at the Ukraine border where Russia is amassing troops but must focus on its diplomatic strengths, says national security experts.
In an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period airing Sunday, Richard Fadden, former CSIS director and national security adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said that includes calling out Russian aggression and threatening further sanctions, in union with NATO allies.
鈥淲e should be out there beating the bushes with our allies arguing, maybe send some more troops on a rotational basis, make sure sanctions that are now in place are fully respected, argue for bigger sanctions, but I don鈥檛 think we can do a great deal on our own,鈥� he said.
鈥淥ne good thing that has come out of what Putin has done is it鈥檚 pulled NATO together again, and I think we should build on that.鈥�
Canadian officials have been watching closely the situation at Ukraine鈥檚 eastern border, where Russia has sent 100,000 troops raising concerns about the potential of an invasion.
Trudeau spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week about the military buildup, on the eve of a key meeting in Brussels between the 30-country NATO alliance and Russia.
Zelensky reiterated that the West must be ready to impose further sanctions against Russia should the situation escalate.
Russia has called on NATO to guarantee it won鈥檛 expand eastward into Ukraine, a demand the alliance and Ukraine itself flatly reject.
On Wednesday, Trudeau told reporters that Canada condemns Russian aggression and the buildup of troops and is prepared to proceed with 鈥渟ignificant鈥� consequences if necessary.
Fadden said he doesn鈥檛 believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking complete control over Ukraine.
鈥淚 think that harks back to the days when the Soviet Union controlled without owning a bunch of countries in Eastern Europe. I don鈥檛 think he wants to invade Ukraine and take it over, I think he wants to find some way of ensuring some measure of control short of going through a full-scale war,鈥� he said.
Peter MacKay, a former defence and foreign affairs minister, told CTV鈥檚 Question Period that there is more Canada can do diplomatically, noting the government has been 鈥渁 bit absent鈥� from the conversation up to this point.
鈥淸U.S.] President Biden has been making the rounds and calling countries looking for their support. We haven鈥檛 been part of those discussions,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 would suggest that the thing that Russia fears the most and that Putin doesn鈥檛 want to see is not an inclusion in NATO but it鈥檚 a resilient, independent, sovereign, corruption-free Ukraine 鈥� and that鈥檚 what we should be helping to do, is build resilience and build their capacity within governance. That鈥檚 one of the [areas] where Canada can add value.鈥�
As part of Operation UNIFIER, Canada sends a group of about 200 Canadian Armed Forces members to Ukraine every six months.
Set to end in March 2022, the operation鈥檚 focus is to assist with security force training to build capability and capacity.
The government has also sent money through international organizations to fund humanitarian efforts there, and has provided development assistance to the country, focused on enhancing electoral, judicial, anti-corruption, and health and social policy.
Fadden said discussions around Canada鈥檚 role in Ukraine reinforce the need for a foreign security policy.
鈥淲e need a foreign policy that鈥檚 holistic and comprehensive so that we can allocate military, diplomatic and economic tools. Right now, I think there鈥檚 a little too much ad hockery,鈥� he said.
With a file from The Canadian Press.
