HAMILTON, Canada 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney took part in a virtual meeting Thursday of the Coalition of the Willing, chaired by France and the UK, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.

"Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, participated in a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing chaired by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, alongside the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy," it said.

Saying that the leaders discussed options to provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees, the Canadian Prime Minister expressed "Canada's steadfast commitment to the Coalition, and its willingness to deploy direct and scalable military assistance in support of a ceasefire and lasting peace."

The statement noted that Carney and coalition members welcomed "the openness of the United States to backstop these efforts in order to support long-term peace and security for both Ukraine and Europe."

Carney emphasized the importance of maintaining economic pressure on Russia, stating that coalition members emphasized "the need to maintain multilateral economic pressure on Russia to end its aggression."