Canada's prime minister won't say if Canada to keep sending troops to Ukraine

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is standing by Ukraine in its struggle against Russia, but he won't be pinned down on whether it will continue supplying troops to train Ukraine's military.

During a joint news conference Monday in Kyiv to mark the signing of a Canada-Ukraine free trade deal, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he has asked for 200 Canadian military trainers to remain in the country past March 2017.

That's when the current mission near the western city of Lviv is set to expire.

 Canada will co-ordinate with its allies in supporting Ukraine, said Trudeau, who noted that the training mission is giving "significant support" to the Ukrainian military as it seeks to defend and reclaim territory lost to rebels in the east.

"We are right now focused on the training mission that is going so well for both Canadians and especially for the Ukrainian military," he said.

"As the situation evolves, we will continue to monitor and look at the best way we can continue to support and help Ukraine and we will do so in the spirit of collaboration and friendship that has always existed between Canada and Ukraine."

Meanwhile, both Trudeau and Poroshenko slammed Russia for not living up to its commitments to a peace deal intended to bring an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine...
 [ctvnews.ca]
11/7/16