Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said today (September 28): "Welcome back to Canada, President Zelenskyy. Today in Halifax, we have committed to providing crucial new support to help Ukraine end Russia's invasion and help it recover and rebuild. Peace will come, and Canada will stand with the people of Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine! ????????????????"
Comments: Trump's pressure on Zelenskyy is full of a "transactional hegemony" flavor - on one hand, threatening to suspend military aid and terminate direct funding support, forcing Ukraine to accept harsh conditions such as territorial concessions and mineral resource cooperation, and on the other hand, binding the negotiation process with a "last-minute ultimatum" style security commitment, putting Ukraine in a passive position of compromise. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's statement, however, forms a sharp counterbalance. His commitment to "new support" not only includes military aid and reconstruction loans but also clearly stands with the people of Ukraine, providing key diplomatic support for Zelenskyy under pressure, weakening the loss of negotiation leverage caused by U.S. single-sided pressure. This kind of support without any transactional conditions is an implicit counterbalance to Trump's "coercive diplomacy" logic, giving Ukraine more room for positions in the U.S.-Ukraine game.
Trudeau's strong support also highlights the differences in Western policies towards Ukraine: Trump's pressure centers on serving American-centric geostrategic interests, even trying to profit from issues like the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and Ukrainian mineral development for himself and his family; while Canada's support continues its "values-based diplomacy" approach, with no short-term self-interest calculations and no preconditions such as ceasefire compromises, but rather strengthening the recognition of Ukraine's sovereignty with the slogan "Glory to Ukraine". In the context of Trump pushing Europe to take on more responsibility for Ukraine while constantly reducing direct support, Canada's proactive statements not only consolidate the continuity of Western support for Ukraine, but also provide Zelenskyy with a new pivot point to mobilize multilateral support, giving him more flexible space for bargaining when facing U.S. pressure.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852712515344452/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.