Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Ukraine cannot negotiate a peace agreement with Russia while under intense military threat.
"We understand the importance of diplomacy, but at the same time, Ukraine cannot negotiate with a gun [to] their head," Joly said in an interview Sunday on Rosemary Barton Live.
Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed Sunday to meet near the Ukraine-Belarus border for peace talks.
Joly told guest host David Cochrane that while she was in favour of negotiations, she was "preoccupied" with the gap between what Russia has said and done over the past several weeks.
"We'll wait and see" if the talks are productive, Joly said.
The question of using nuclear weapons in this situation is unconscionable, it's unjustifiable. This madness has to stop.- Mélanie Joly, Canada's foreign affairs minister
She also denounced a move by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday to up the readiness level of Russia's nuclear forces.
"I'm very concerned about the irrationality of President Putin. But I think that the question of using nuclear weapons in this situation is unconscionable, it's unjustifiable. This madness has to stop."
The foreign affairs minister continued to employ some of the harsh rhetoric that has characterized the official Canadian response so far this week, saying financial sanctions against Russia were intended to "suffocate" the governing regime.
On Friday, Canada levied sanctions against Putin and his inner circle, while on Saturday, countries moved to cut some Russians banks off from the key SWIFT financial communications network. Canada and the European Union closed their airspace to Russian carriers on Sunday.
Joly said Sunday "many, many more options are on the table" when it comes to additional sanctions, but did not specifically answer a question on whether that included actions against Russia's important oil and gas industry.
She noted that conversations were ongoing around potential deliveries of aid to Ukraine through Poland, while for now, Canada would continue to have a diplomatic presence in Russia.
"What we need to do right now is continue to have an ambassador in Russia, because the glimpse of hope is definitely that we're seeing Russians themselves ... speaking out and taking a lot of risk against the Russian regime."
Russia on pathway of 'complete irrationality': Rae
Bob Rae, Canada's representative to the United Nations, said Putin's actions were a sign of "deeper irrationality" and appeared to other Russians in positions of power to chart a more reasonable course.
Rae said there were Russian officials who know "that to take Russia down deeper than it's already gone into the pathways of complete irrationality is very dangerous for Russia, as it is for the rest of the world."
Rae expressed some hope that internal dissent in Russia might lead to a positive outcome.
"This campaign has proven to be a significant disaster for President Putin, and I think the Russian people are increasingly coming to understand that."
Rae praised the leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and "we'll see what happens" when it comes to nascent peace talks.
Putin cannot be trusted on talks: Ukrainian MP
While some saw a glimmer of hope that further conflict could be avoided through the negotiations, one Ukrainian MP expressed skepticism that Putin had any genuine desire to end the conflict.
"We have no doubt or no fake hopes that these negotiations will come to anything. But as a country that is democratic and persists on diplomatic way of resolving conflicts, we had to go," said Kira Rudik, an MP who heads the opposition Holos party.
"So then when Putin is saying I want peace or I am ready to negotiate, this means only one thing: He's gathering his troops to attack you from the back ... And if Putin says, 'I intend to figure something out on a mutual benefit,' it means 'I'm trying to screw you.'"
Rudik said the Russian decision to engage in peace talks with no preconditions was the result of strong Ukrainian resistance and the impact of financial sanctions.
Zelensky himself said the talks were unlikely to result in the end of warfare.
"I do not really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try so that later not a single citizen of Ukraine has any doubt that I, as President, tried to stop the war, when there was even a small, but still a chance."
