Top US and Canadian officials during 2+2 ministerial talks on 14 December discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation on foreign military sales and sanctions coordination, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said at a press conference.
“Today we focused on enhancing our already strong cooperation in a number of areas, from foreign military sales to sanctions coordination,” Mattis said.
The mentioned arrest took place on 25 November after Ukraine’s Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia after failing to respond to a demand to stop.Following the incident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree declaring martial law in several Ukrainian regions located near the Russian border. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to introduce martial law ahead of Ukraine’s presidential election.