During a press conference between the Foreign Ministers of Canada and Sweden, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly stated that they must be “forward-leaning” on the question of Ukraine using NATO-supplied weapons to strike within Russian territory.
When asked by Agence-France Presse about the use of NATO weapons to target Russians in Ukraine, Minister Joly stated, “We’re headed to NATO afterwards, and we’ll definitely be bringing this subject at the core of our conversations. We believe we need to be forward-leaning on this question…” She goes on to state that “Russia has no red line” and that Canada/NATO must show they are by Ukraine’s side.
She also stated that “there’s, in Canada, no conditions on end-user shipment of arms to Ukraine.”
These statements show a gradual change in NATO preference as more member states shift to allowing Ukraine to use their weaponry against targets within sovereign Russian territory. Germany and France have already declared their approval, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has echoed this move.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has urged caution. President Joe Biden has also been reluctant on the issue, despite calls from Congress to approve Ukraine’s ability to use NATO weapons to strike Russia.
