Canada and Ukraine have common defensive interest – ambassador

Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko said this in a commentary to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We have an absolutely clear common defensive interest: the neighbor, which does not respect the borders, and the need to make this neighbor play by the rules," Shevchenko said.

He stressed that the signing of the Canada-Ukraine defense agreement sent a clear signal to Russia.

"Perhaps, if there had been no war and no Russian aggression, there would have been no deal, and we would have been engaged in other areas. It was a blessing in disguise. Now we can work out effective mechanisms for our cooperation for generations ahead," the Ambassador noted.

Shevchenko stressed that he was satisfied with the reached agreement and considered it to be "a good, full-fledged, public and legitimate recognition of our partnership."

As reported, the agreements on defense cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Ministry of National Defense of Canada and the Armed Forces of Canada were signed in Ottawa on Monday. The agreements are to enhance bilateral cooperation between the states in many areas.

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