Canada will do all to deter 'Russian threat' - foreign minister

Canada will make every effort to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, she said this in an interview with the National Post.

"We will use every single tool possible to make sure to deter Russia from going ahead," Joly said.

According to her, Canada, the U.S., the UK and European Union members are all in "planning mode" for the eventuality that Russia does invade its neighbor to the west.

She promised that Canada would work with "like-minded" countries to apply "diplomatic" and "economic" pressure as well as "all the means necessary" to deter the "Russian threat."

Joly also called on Russia to reduce tensions in the region, as this could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"The fact that tensions are high, obviously, we're all human beings, and we wouldn't want harm to be done," she said.

In a speech during a meeting of the OSCE ministerial council on December 2, Joly said: "Russia is again amassing troops and equipment in and around Ukraine, and its lack of transparency and increased rhetoric aggravate existing tensions and risk miscalculations."

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