When reached by Doppler regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “obviously a pretty disappointing character fanning the flames of division.”
Aitchison questioned Putin’s ultimate goal. “What appeases that man? I’m not sure anything less than the reconstitution of the former Soviet Union makes him happy.”
He said claims by Putin that Ukraine has been committing human rights abuses against Russian-speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine have not been proven. “I don’t know if there’s any truth to any of that, actually… You know I think he’s fanning the flames of that and hanging his hat on the dissenting voices of a minority and using that as a prelude to expanding Russia’s sphere of influence,” said Aitchison of rebel forces in the southeastern part of the country.
Meanwhile in Canada, the Liberals and Conservatives seem united in their swift condemnation of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“We [the Conservative Party]did disagree with the Liberals in terms of what we were going to send for assistance. I know that the government changed their mind and did in fact send weapons and actual tools of war as opposed to just good advice,” he said. “I think that now, I think that it’s probably wise for everyone to try and come together and make sure that we’re speaking as one voice, not just as Canadians, but also as an alliance with our NATO partners and the G7 and all the various different international organizations that we’re a part of. You know, we need to be united against this Russian aggression and we need to do everything we can to stop it without escalating an armed conflict.”
In terms of financial repercussions through sanctions and other related means, Aitchison said he’s not sure how effective that is. “I sometimes wonder if it’s too little, too late, especially since they’ve been amassing equipment and troops on the border for some time now,” said Aitchison, who also expressed concern with the extent of China’s involvement in support of Russia. “China is a superpower and so, you know, if you have a Chinese-Russian partnership in conflict… with the Western world, I mean, that’s a pretty significant situation.”
When asked whether Canada should put boots on the ground in Ukraine, Aitchison said: “That’s a bit above my pay grade. I think those kinds of decisions are made by people who have an awful lot more information than I do.”
Conspiracy theories about the conflict have started to surface regarding its timing and orchestration. “I just think that those people need to take a look and see just how effectively governments organize anything and really question themselves whether they think that governments can orchestrate such a massive scale of hoodwinking… the world. That’s ridiculous. I mean, honestly, really? People need to get out of their basements and stop reading conspiracy theories online,” he concluded.
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