Canada gives green light for arms sales to Ukraine

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada

The Justin Trudeau government gave permission Wednesday to Canadian arms manufacturers to sell weapons to Ukraine, a move that Ukraine hopes will prod the Trump administration to follow suit.

Ukraine asked for the approval after the Russians seized the Crimea in 2014 and it was a subject discussed during a meeting last fall between Trudeau and President Petro Poroshenko in Ukraine.

The move is likely to anger Russia and also Amnesty International Canada, who opposed the sale of weapons because they will be used not for defense, as Ukraine maintains, but could be used for controlling their own citizens. Ukraine’s human rights record has to improve before any weapon sales are approved, Amnesty International Canada said.

But the Canadian government said manufacturers who sell to Ukraine will have to receive an export permit and each transaction will be “assessed on a case-by-case basis.”

And any arms sale comes with conditions which spell out who the weapons are sold to, how they will be used, and that they will not be used against civilians.

Permission for American arms manufacturers to sell to Ukraine has been sitting on U.S. President Donald Trump’s desk for weeks, unsigned.

Speculation is that Trump does not want to upset Russian President Vladimir Putin.