Ukraine is looking for more than bland security 'assurances' in talks with Canada, expert says

A significant, even far-reaching event would have slipped almost silently under the radar in Ottawa this week, had it not been for Ukrainian news media.

The Liberal government quietly (perhaps deliberately so) handed over a draft of its proposed security assurances plan for Ukraine to officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office.

The milestone was acknowledged by Canada's Ambassador to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc, who was widely quoted by several media outlets in Kyiv.

Cmoc spoke about the security plan Monday. It took Global Affairs Canada until Friday to answer a rather straightforward question about what the ambassador had told the Ukrainians. Even then, the department's milquetoast response avoided the central theme, which has preoccupied the debate in the embattled country.

In an interview with the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, Cmoc made it clear that Canada's promised security measures were best described as «assurances,» not «guarantees.»

While emphasizing the difference, she said she does not see this parsing of words as a source of friction between the two countries.

«I think the 'assurance' word is very important,» Cmoc said. «We are looking to create a document that will provide assurances to Ukraine, and the urgency is here.»

For its part, the department described the package as «bilateral security commitments» and said it hopes to complete negotiations swiftly.

«Negotiations are underway and we will have more to say in due course,» Charlotte MacLeod, a Global Affairs spokesperson, said in a written statement.

As compensation for Ukraine not receiving fast-tracked membership in NATO last summer, G7 nations stepped into the political void by promising to negotiate a series of bilateral security deals that, taken