Standing Committee on National Defence

Comité permanent de la défense nationale

For immediate release

Ottawa, December 12, 2018 -

Stephen Fuhr, MP, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, together with Committee Vice-Chairs James Bezan, MP, and Randall Garrison, MP, made the following statement today on the tabling of the Committee’s unanimous report entitled: Responding to Russian Aggression Against Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in the Black Sea Region. This report follows two related reports by the Committee – Canada’s Support to Ukraine in Crisis and Armed Conflict and An Interim Report on Russia’s Interference in Moldova – that were released in December 2017 and June 2018.

“Russian aggression against Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in the Black Sea region is of serious concern to Canada and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.”

“For more than four years, Russia has been engaged in a brutal war against Ukraine, and Canada has been a strong supporter of Ukraine throughout that period. But Russian aggression is not limited to that country. Russia is a revisionist military power and is continually challenging the existing international order through its actions and interference in the affairs of sovereign states, particularly Moldova and Georgia, Ukraine’s neighbours in the Black Sea Region.”

“The report contains 13 recommendations that address, among other things, strengthening Canada’s support for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, renewing and enhancing Canada’s military training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces through Operation UNIFIER beyond March 2019, imposing more sanctions against Russia, advocating for an increased NATO presence to respond to Russian escalation in the Black Sea, and supporting the aspirations of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to join NATO.”

During the study, the Committee held three meetings in Ottawa between 12 June and 4 December 2018. In particular, the Committee met with a visiting delegation of Ukrainian parliamentarians, experts from the Atlantic Council, and the Ambassadors of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

The Committee’s report can be accessed on the website.