Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has apologized for past comments she made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict before she was elected.
“I categorically condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the indescribable suffering Russia has and still is inflicting upon the Ukrainian people,” she said.
“Prior to re-entering politics earlier this year, I made some ill-informed comments on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. My knowledge and opinion of this matter have drastically evolved since that time, and I apologize for those previous comments.”
“If you want to draw a parallel, it would be absurd for Canada to have nuclear weapons and be allied with Russia and not think that that was going to upset America,” she replied.
“So, why would we be surprised if Russia is upset because Ukraine has nuclear weapons and is aligned with the United States?”
“So I think the only answer for Ukraine is neutrality,” she said, adding that if she had missed something or there had been new developments, let her know.
“It seems to me the great powers of the world did a terrible job defining the new borders of countries after WWII,” she wrote.
“So much of the conflict we have had since is due to different people being crammed under one national government that don’t like each other. I’ve read that two regions of Ukraine feel more affinity to Russia. Should nations be allowed to break away and govern themselves independently? If that’s truly what people want, then I think so. But is that what the people want - or is it propaganda? Hard to know what to believe anymore. Any help sorting this through I would appreciate.”
In her statement Tuesday, Smith said she has directed her office to “actively reach out to Alberta’s Ukrainian community leaders in order to ascertain immediate steps we can take to assist Ukrainian refugees to settle and integrate into communities across Alberta as quickly as possible.”
“I stand with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.”
