KYIV, Ukraine — Defence Minister Jason Kenney says the notorious ultra-nationalist Azov regiment will "absolutely" be excluded from the training Canadian military advisers are about to deliver in Ukraine.
The paramilitary unit, which says it is the victim of a Russian smear campaign, called on Canada to refute claims that it is full of neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Azov spokesman Alexander Alferov says his group believes Canada has shown leadership and moral clarity on the issue of Russia's annexation of Crimea and the war in the eastern region.
Kenney agrees, but says that doesn't mean the Harper government will back those with extremist views.
Kenney is meeting with Ukrainian officials, including President Petro Poroshenko, over the next two days.
He says — in his capacity as multiculturalism minister — he will encourage the country to join the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and suggest Ukraine redouble its efforts to fight anti-Sematism.
Kenney says a "small number of bad apples in one battalion" should not be allowed to characterize the "new Ukraine."
