OTTAWA — Europe is eagerly awaiting a possible breakthrough in U.S.-led negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine, as Canada has repeatedly said it is up to the Ukrainians to decide how to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters he would be willing to withdraw troops from the country’s eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end Russia’s invasion — provided Moscow also withdraws.
The proposal would involve the creation of a demilitarized free economic zone, monitored by international forces, with peace talks focused primarily on control of the region.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand‘s office did not immediately comment on the proposal, but she has repeatedly said that democracies like Ukraine should be the ones to decide their own interests when it comes to territorial integrity and sovereignty.
At a conference organized earlier this month by the Canadian Club in Toronto, Ms. Anand explained that Ottawa would not dictate to Mr. Zelensky what geographic borders he should adopt, adding that the question of which borders Canada would consider best was “irrelevant.”
She also said that the question of Ukraine’s membership in NATO was a decision of the military alliance and “does not constitute a point of negotiation within the framework of a possible ceasefire.”
— With information from the Associated Press
