Russia is Canada’s neighbour; Ukraine is not. Russia has 143 million people; Ukraine had about 45 million before the loss of Crimea. Russia is a European and Asian power; Ukraine is neither. Russia has a seat on the United Nations Security Council; Ukraine does not. Russia is indispensable for negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran or any settlement in Syria, assuming either is possible; Ukraine is irrelevant in both instances. Russia has a large military, including a blue-water navy and nuclear weapons; Ukraine has neither. No long-term multilateral arrangements for the Arctic can be made without Russia.
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