Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to say to my colleague, Ms. Bendayan, that when the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom cry wolf as they're doing now, it has exactly the same impact on the Ukrainian economy. That's probably one reason why Ukraine is asking us to tone it down a bit and take a more conciliatory approach. We must avoid going overboard, because it significantly affects the Ukrainian people.
The same is true of the decision to remove non‑essential personnel from the embassy. Only a very small number of countries have done so, namely, the United States and the United Kingdom, again, as well as Australia and Canada. The other allies are staying put to show their support for Ukraine by their presence.
I want to address the question asked by my colleague, Michael Chong, about Ukraine's membership in NATO. When she went to Kyiv, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that we were still in favour of it, of course, but that further improvements were needed in terms of democracy. I'd like some clarification on that. I must say that the Atlantic Alliance countries involved seem to have different expectations, to the point that Ukraine feels that the deadline is being pushed back indefinitely. The Ukrainian Prime Minister has expressed some impatience about this.
Is there a real plan to admit Ukraine to NATO, or is the goal to postpone its membership indefinitely to avoid having to deal with the Russian threat?