Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says the war in Ukraine will eventually end through diplomacy, but that Canada鈥檚 support of the country will continue in the long term, to help prevent future conflict.

As the war approaches the 18-month mark, Joly told CTV鈥檚 Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview airing Sunday that the long-term support of Ukraine by Canada and other NATO allies is critical to deterring Russia, which Joly says will remain 鈥渁 very dangerous neighbour鈥� even after the war.

鈥淚 think it's important that we talk about the long-term security assurances that we can give to Ukraine,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t one point, the war will be settled at the negotiation table, like it is the case in every single war.鈥�

鈥淲e need to make sure that Ukraine is strong at the negotiation table,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hat's why we are supporting the counteroffensive as we speak.鈥�

Joly said it鈥檚 important to set up mechanisms so Russia does not 鈥渓eave the country, rearm and reinvade鈥� Ukraine in the future.

鈥淎t the end of the day, we want to be able to provide a form of stability, predictability, to what is being done by different countries,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause even when the war ends, and basically Ukraine wins, I think that in order for reconstruction to happen, we need to be able to provide these formal assurances.鈥�

Joly added it鈥檚 a subject she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have raised with allies.

NATO members meanwhile are set to meet for their next summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July, with a focus on the war in Ukraine.

Canada has long faced calls to increase its defence spending commitments to reach two per cent of GDP 鈥� the agreed-upon goal as part of the Wales Summit Declaration in 2014 鈥� but the Washington Post reported in April that Trudeau privately told NATO Canada will never meet the target.

With that 10-year commitment set to expire next year, renegotiations of the spending target are also on the agenda when NATO meets next month, and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has signalled the two per cent target will become the floor, as opposed to a ceiling, adding pressure on Canada to commit more funds.

When asked whether failing to hit the two per cent target impedes Canada鈥檚 ability to drive home the need for long-term investments in Ukraine, Joly said despite the spending goal, Canada is among the countries that has spent the most per capita to support the war-torn country.

鈥淚 think that we need to provide some assurances, and we need to make sure that other countries do so, because in the end, we need to make sure that what we're doing now has an impact on the long run,鈥� she said.

And when pressed on whether she thinks the government has the public will for such spending, potentially over decades to come, Joly said she thinks Canadians in general 鈥渒now that what we're doing in Ukraine is fundamental to our own security, because Ukraine鈥檚 security is Europe's security 鈥� it is the world鈥檚 security.鈥�