Canadian PM says Russia not been "positive partner" on Minsk ceasefire

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inspects the honour guard during a welcoming ceremony in Kiev, Ukraine, July 11, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

KIEV (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Russia has not been a "positive partner" as regards its obligations in the Minsk ceasefire agreement to end a Russian-backed separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. On a visit to Kiev, Trudeau also announced $13 million in new humanitarian aid for Ukraine and an increase in the number of Canadian observers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the eastern Donbass region. Trudeau was non-committal when asked whether Canada was considering supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine. "It is obvious that Ukraine has made some extremely important and difficult steps in parliament and in their institutions to live up to their responsibilities on Minsk," Trudeau said. "And it's also clear that the security side of the Minsk implementation, Russia has not been a positive partner." (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Catherine Evans)