Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands next to French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney as they pose for a family photo of all participants during the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Dublin, on Nov. 12, 2026. AP Photo/Peter Morrison
Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while in Dublin this week to discuss ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the war with Russia.
The leaders met at the European Political Community summit, an informal gathering of European leaders held every six months since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For the second time, Canada is the only non-European country attending the meeting.
Carney said at the start of the summit that Zelenskyy would inform the leaders of the status of trilateral peace talks that took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.
“We are going to have a lot to do there,” Carney told reporters in French on Nov. 12.
Carney added that security guarantees are a “European responsibility, with Canada, with the United States,” and that there are “tiers for security guarantees.”
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a prisoner exchange as the second day of U.S.-mediated talks concluded in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 11. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concluded a roughly two-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Nov. 12 to discuss the conflict, before travelling to Dublin to speak with Zelenskyy.
Trade Talks
Carney also held discussions with the leaders of Greece and Cyprus, which have not ratified Canada’s decade-old trade deal with the European Union. Cyprus’s President Nikos Christodoulides said he was committed to getting the trade deal ratified, because free trade between the EU and Canada is “very important for both of us.”
Christodoulides also said the meeting was the first between a Canadian prime minister and a Cypriot president in 80 years, which reflects Carney’s “pro-European Canadian approach.”
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement that the two leaders “reaffirmed the longstanding relationship between Canada and Cyprus” and welcomed the “strategic momentum of the partnership as Canada and the EU work together to establish Canada’s path” to becoming an associate member of the EU.
The PMO has not yet released details on the meeting with Greece.
Carney told reporters he did not attend the UN Climate Conference in Turkey, known as COP31, because it overlapped with Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. Carney said it was “more important” to be at a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa to “honour the women and men of the Canadian Forces who served our country, who stood for democracy, often in Europe, supported our rights.”
Carney said Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin will attend COP31 to advance Canadian interests on electrification. He pointed out that Budget 2026 included $50 billion to accelerate electrification in Canada, and that the country has the “cleanest, lowest-cost grid in the advanced world.”
Following the meeting in Ireland, Carney will head to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit from Nov. 18 to Nov. 19.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
English (US) · 
Turkish (TR) · 