PM
Harper's Letter to Ukraine
Prime Minister Mykola
Azarov
March
6, 2012
Dear
Prime Minister [Mykola Azarov]:
Thank you for your letter of January
27, 2012,
expressing congratulations on the 20th
anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between Ukraine
and Canada.
Since Ukraine’s
independence, Canada
and Ukraine
have developed a productive and positive partnership based on
generations of
Ukrainian migration to Canada.
Our diplomatic ties are one
aspect of these
multi-faceted relations, which encompass cooperation in many bilateral,
multilateral and international spheres.
As
I expressed during
my October 2010 visit and in subsequent correspondence with President
Yanukovych, some recent developments in your country have caused deep
Canadian
concern. Such developments include the conduct of the trials of former
Prime
Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko
which, as
assessed by a number of international experts, do not reflect accepted
norms of
due process or fairness. I encourage Ukraine
to stand firm on its
commitment to
democracy and cannot overstate the potential negative impact of the current judicial
proceedings on Ukraine’s
future relations with Canada
and with other countries. Canada
will continue to support Ukrainian efforts
toward building a society based on democracy, human rights and the rule
of law.
I
thank you for your
congratulations on this occasion. With 20 years of diplomatic
relations behind us, we look forward to
fostering an even more fruitful diplomatic
relationship in the years to come.
Stephen
Harper, Prime Minister of Canada