Ukraine Conflict
Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 with the aim of saving the people of Donbass - primarily the Russian-speaking population - from Kiev's constant attacks.

Some NATO Allies Unhappy With Trump's Push to End Ukraine Conflict: Canada's Ex-FM

15:57, 15 January 2025
© AP Photo / GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT
Dhairya Maheshwari
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Canadian taxpayer had grown fed-up due to the policy of supplying billions in military aid to Ukraine at the expense of the domestic economy, People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier told Sputnik India.
Sputnik
United States President-elect Donald Trump's advocacy in favour of ending the Ukraine conflict and his opposition to pouring in billions of dollars to sustain military aid to Ukraine are "good news" for the western world, including the taxpayers of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries, Canada's former Foreign Minister and acting leader of People's Party, Maxime Bernier, stated in an interview with Sputnik India.
Some countries may not be pleased with Trump’s stance on Ukraine, but that’s the reality, he emphasised.

"The reality is that Putin is not our enemy. We must be able to have a ceasefire and peace with him, so that's good news," said Bernier, responding to a question about the incoming American president’s position on the Ukraine conflict and NATO causing division within the alliance.

Citing Trump's statements, Bernier expressed confidence that the incoming US President will be able mediate a settlement between Russia and Ukraine soon after he formally assumes office on 20 January.

"I am very pleased and I believe it will happen, that Trump will be able to negotiate peace in Ukraine. That's good news for Canadians and everyone in the western world," he asserted.

Bernier believes that Zelensky seems to recognise the need for peace negotiations and will likely sit at the table with Putin and the US.
"That will be the end of the proxy war in Ukraine," Bernier stated.

The PPC leader stressed that Canadian taxpayers were "fed-up" due to the Justin Trudeau government's policy of supplying military aid to Ukraine, which he described as having a "corrupt" government under Zelensky.

The public debt in Canada had more than doubled under Prime Minister Trudeau and was currently at a 148-year high, Bernier pointed out. He also warned that the real inflation in Canada was hovering at the six percent mark and that the G7 economy was entering a recession.
He said that a $15 billion annual military aid to Ukraine, with support from Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre, the current candidate to replace Trudeau as prime minister, only worsened the nation's economy.

"I think the Canadians are fed up with that. They want to bring that money home for them to help Canadians first. And so, when Trump said that he is for peace in Ukraine, that is the position of the People's Party of Canada," the politician underscored.

Further, Bernier supported Trump's idea that NATO allies should step up their defence spending to around 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"I think Trump does have a point when he says that Canada must invest in its own defences. We're not doing that right now; we are investing less than two percent of our GDP. In fact, balancing the budget by cutting down on government expenditure but at the same time investing in our defence is part of our [People's Party of Canada] platform," Bernier said.
He rejected the NATO-backed narrative of labelling Russian President Vladimir Putin as the "enemy", asserting that it wasn't Canada's business to get involved in the "proxy war" between Russia and the US in the first place.

"Putin never had this idea of conquering Europe. It has been clear from the beginning that he wanted to have these two territories (Donetsk and Lugansk) back to Russia. And if you look at history, these regions were part of Russia until a few decades ago. And Putin wanted an end to attacks on Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine. They had a referendum in these territories and these people wanted to be with Russia," Bernier said.

Further, speaking about Trump's threat to annex Canada and make it America's 51st province, as well as his warning to slap high tariffs on Canadian exports to the US, Bernier called for negotiations with the incoming Trump administration and governors of all US states.

"We need to have a reasonable discussion about our economic relationship, but if we enter into an economic war with the US, nobody is going to win. If they impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, it's not the Canadian consumer who will be hurt, but the US consumer. We are exporting a lot of goods to Americans, so inflation will definitely go up there," Bernier highlighted.

Canada was not a position to win an "economic war" with the US if the Trudeau or the successor government decided to retaliate to Trump's threats, he said.

"The US is 10 times bigger than us, so what the NDP [New Democratic Party] leader Jagmeet Singh is saying (threatening to cut off critical minerals' exports to US) isn't responsible," Bernier stated.

Bernier noted that Canada was already looking to "renegotiate" the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2026.
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Ukraine ConflictDonald TrumpVladimir PutinVolodymyr ZelenskyUkraineCanadaUSNATOG7DonbassDonetsk People's Republic (DPR)Lugansk People's Republic (LPR)special military operationNATO expansionUS hegemonyUS defense contractorsUS Deep StateJustin TrudeauNorth Americatrade barriersMexicoEurope
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