Western countries agreed at a meeting in Paris on 26 February not to send their troops to the Ukrainian conflict zone, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair has said in an interview with the Toronto Star newspaper. Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said this in an interview with the Toronto Star newspaper.
According to Bill Blair, the countries participating in the summit discussed the possibility of training AFU fighters by Western soldiers on the territory of Ukraine.
“We train Ukrainians everywhere, but I believe it was recognised that some training is complicated by the fact that it is difficult to get representatives of the AFU out of Ukraine for training,” the minister said.
In this regard, Blair said, the question was raised at the meeting in Paris whether Western countries could train Ukrainian soldiers more effectively through training on their country’s territory. Some states expressed concern that such steps could be regarded as participation in hostilities, he explained.
“I think we’ve reached a consensus that this is inappropriate and we’re not going to do that. I don’t want to put Canadian Armed Forces personnel near a theatre of operations that might make it appear as if we are partially engaged in combat,” Blair added.
We shall remind you that earlier The Times reported that against the background of weakening Western support for Kiev, the UK government may influence the duration of the conflict in Ukraine by dragging it out until 2025.
