RSS
Romania’s PM seeks Canadian troops for brigade to deter Russian aggression
* Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada also warned that Putin is laying a propaganda foundation to wage a broader war against the West.
Romania’s visiting prime minister says Justin Trudeau has offered political support for his country’s proposal to host a NATO brigade that would help deter Russian aggression along Europe’s southeastern border, thestar.com reports.
Dacian Ciolos and his Canadian counterpart didn’t discuss specific troop numbers during their meeting Wednesday in Ottawa, but he did say he got a positive reception for his plan for a Romanian-led multinational brigade.
“I was very happy to discuss this and to have a political commitment from Prime Minister Trudeau
to be proactively present in this project,” Ciolos said in an interview Wednesday.“I also asked for a Canadian presence in this proposal.”
Details of the proposed Romanian-led unit emerged this week at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, setting the table for the July leaders’ summit in Warsaw that Trudeau is expected to attend. The brigade’s strength is estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 troops.
NATO foreign ministers agreed to bolster its defences against Russia by deploying four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. They also approved an expanded package of assistance for Ukraine to help strengthen its defence and security forces, and its ability to fight a so-called “hybrid war” against Russia.
Trudeau’s office had no immediate comment on the Romanian proposal, while military officials in Ottawa were non-committal, saying they were “actively considering options” for a Canadian contribution to the battalions for the three Baltic countries and Poland on NATO’s northeastern flank.
Ciolos said the Romanian-based deployment is needed to shore up NATO’s southeastern flank with Russia.
“Even if Romania does not have a direct border with Russia, when we look at the current situation, all the conflict provoked these last years were in southeastern part, around the Black Sea, and the not the northeastern part.”
Romania is also proposing naval exercises in the Black Sea, and “we already have a commitment of Bulgaria and Turkey to work together,” said Ciolos.
Ciolos said the military build-up is a necessary deterrent to Russian moves in the region, but he said it is not intended to be provocative.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada offered a much less diplomatic assessment of the threat posed by Russia.
Envoy Andriy Shevchenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of laying a propaganda foundation to wage a broader war against the West — one he warns will be far more serious than Russia’s aggression against his own country.
Shevchenko said Russia is waging a “hybrid war” that involves undermining the sovereignty of various countries through an information war, and financing radical and nationalist parties in Europe, which can be destabilizing.
“To the free world, it’s important to understand that through the propaganda machine, through other actions, Russia is preparing itself for a major war against the West and against the free world, with a possible front line from Syria to the Arctic,” Shevchenko said in an interview.
“It is in Canada’s interest to make sure that Russia plays under international rules. Russia is your neighbour, just like ours.”
The Ukraine conflict may not be dominating headlines as it once did, but Shevchenko said it is still simmering, with clashes claiming lives regularly and attacks on the infrastructure of OSCE monitors who are trying to enforce a shaky ceasefire.
The ceasefire is being violated “again and again,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
“This of great concern because … there are also many casualties. Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives and this is just underlining the dangers and also the instability related to the situation in Eastern Ukraine.”
Canada has already deployed about 200 military trainers to Ukraine, and supplied protective equipment and other non-lethal aid to help its ally cope with the ongoing threat from Russia. It also has sent 200 Canadian Forces personnel to Poland to participate in the NATO reassurance mission for Eastern Europe.
Shevchenko said the new Liberal government remains a steadfast ally and supporter of his country, and there’s an opportunity for Canada to play a larger role in helping find a solution to the two-year-old Russian annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and Moscow’s ongoing backing of separatist rebels in his country’s east.
“We’re dealing with a regime that is obsessed with challenging the West,” he said. “Through their propaganda machine, they’re making sure their whole nation is supportive of that.”