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Dear Internationalist,
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must be condemned. It’s a flagrant violation of international law and has already caused significant death and suffering.
We must also consider our own government’s role in this calamitous situation.
A factor driving regional tensions is NATO expansion across Eastern Europe. Since the early 1990s, Canada has pushed to expand NATO to Russia’s doorstep despite promises to Soviet officials not to do so, as this article details. Now 600 Canadian troops lead a semi-permanent NATO mission in Latvia on Russia’s doorstep.
As CFPI fellow Yves Engler explains, Canada also played a role in today's tensions by contributing to the 2014 overthrow of the elected Ukrainian president, which spurred war in the east of the country. Incredibly, the Canadian embassy in Kyiv was used by anti-government protesters for a week in the lead up to Viktor Yanukovych’s ouster.
Instead of pouring in more weapons, Ottawa should push to negotiate a way out of the conflict (including committing to end NATO expansion and implementing the Minsk agreements). Otherwise, more Ukrainians are likely to die and the possibility of cataclysmic nuclear war will grow.
Join our webinar on Friday at 6PM ET for a discussion about Russia's invasion, NATO's provocation and Canadian complicity. Co-sponsored by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) and World Beyond War Canada.
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