Roman Waschuk: Ukraine needs to take a more active role in the Black Sea Region

Ukraine can become a member of NATO, having all the prerequisites to do so. However, Ukraine needs to move very quickly, said the Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine Roman Waschuk during the 12th Kyiv Security Forum, organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.

Canada will continue to help Ukraine despite changes in the political leadership of the country, stressed Roman Waschuk.

"Ukraine can very well become a member of NATO. You have all the tools to entice the Alliance. However, Ukraine needs to move very quickly – reform and demonstrate the ability to defend yourself. Canada has and will continue to assist Ukraine under any conditions. We will continue working in this direction with the new president of Ukraine," said the Ambassador to Canada to Ukraine.

After 70 years of NATO’s existence, Canada sees that Euro-Atlantic values are still relevant. There is no basis for talking about the devaluation of the tasks that stood and stand before the Alliance, believes the Ambassador

"Canada isn’t isolated from the transatlantic process; it participated in two world wars and paid its high price. This gives Canada the right to talk about transatlantic values and support their distribution to distant countries that play their role in their regions. These countries aspire to our values and have the right to be heard," emphasized Roman Waschuk

The Ambassador of Canada noted that his country is trying to do a lot to restrain Russia and support Ukraine. However, NATO needs to react flexibly to challenges that are always transforming.

"NATO itself needs to be actively changing. There should be a live forum for consulting even the non-member states, actively adapting military strategy to new technology. We are talking about artificial intelligence, supersonic speeds and the latest tactics of combat. Global challenges, including from the Chinese side, demand such innovations," stressed Roman Waschuk

The diplomat shared his thoughts on how Ukraine could care for its security in the southern direction.

"Canada actively participates in training exercises in the Black Sea. Our proposal for Ukraine is to actively build relationships with Black Sea countries, such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Since, if I am not mistaken, the Ukrainian President’s visit to Bulgaria was the first in a decade. The communication was mainly established "through Brussels". Although Ukraine’s vigorous efforts towards establishing horizontal communication and cooperation might yield unexpectedly fruitful results," concluded the Canadian Ambassador Roman Waschuk.

FOR REFERENCE:

The annual Kyiv Security Forum was initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007. Since then, the Forum has become a platform for high-level, international discussions about relevant matters of national security, as well as the security of the Black Sea region, Europe, and the world.