The delay in sending the NASAMS surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine by Canada is due to the need for a preliminary agreement between the US and Ukrainian governments, the Globe and Mail has quoted Canadian officials as saying.
According to the Globe and Mail, in order for Canada to provide Ukraine with SAM systems, Kiev needs to conclude an agreement with Washington on the sale of weapons. The newspaper said that negotiations between the Ukrainian and US sides were still under way.
“Canadian officials said that NASAMS were paid for last March, but delivery is being delayed because of the requirement of an arms sale agreement between the US and Ukrainian governments, negotiations on which are still ongoing,” the Globe and Mail publication said.
The publication stressed that the head of the Canadian defence ministry, Bill Blair, had most likely spoken to the US ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, last week to urge Washington to speed up the process of concluding this agreement.
We shall remind you that CTV reported earlier that the NASAMS surface-to-air missile system, which Canada promised to purchase from the United States a year ago for Kiev’s needs, has not been sent to Ukraine yet.