OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday he would visit Ukraine on March 22 to meet with the country's interim government and show support for Kiev during the Crimea crisis.
Harper - who has been particularly critical of Russia's actions - will hold talks with Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, he said in a statement.
"We will continue to work with our allies to support efforts to restore the country to stability and unity so that the people of Ukraine can thrive and prosper free of intimidation and threat," he said.
Canada said on Thursday it would give C$220 million ($198 million) in aid to Ukraine to help promote sustainable economic growth and good governance.
Canada's Conservative government has already imposed a travel ban on the people it blames for the crisis and frozen the assets of those close to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.
($1=$1.11 Canadian)
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, editing by G Crosse and Chizu Nomiyama)
