Canada’s mission in Central and Eastern Europe, which aims to deter Russia from starting an armed conflict, will be extended, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed on Tuesday, while in Riga, Latvia, on the second day of a European tour.
Canada is leading Operation REASSURANCE which is part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence efforts against Russia, a mission that has taken on new meaning in light of the Russian invasion of the ‘Ukraine.
The operation was to end next year, but Mr. Trudeau explained that the current situation requires this “multi-year early renewal”.
Canada announced last month that it will deploy up to 460 additional Canadian Armed Forces personnel to participate in the operation in addition to an additional frigate and a maritime patrol aircraft. They were added to the 500 soldiers already present.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will send 130 more troops in the coming weeks.
“The troops here are not just defending Latvia or Eastern Europe, they are defending all NATO allies, including Canada. They are defending our freedom and security,” the Prime Minister said at the Ādaži military base, where NATO troops are stationed.
National Defense Minister Anita Anand said alongside her that the announcement demonstrates Canada’s “deep commitment” to “the long-term security, stability and interoperability of the NATO alliance”. .
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg argued at the early evening press conference, which was also attended by the Prime Ministers of Latvia and Spain, that Vladimir “Putin has grossly underestimated Ukraine and grossly underestimated the strength and unity of NATO”.
Prime Minister Trudeau later added that the Russian president made “a big mistake in thinking that the Ukrainians were weak and that NATO was divided”.
Asked whether Canada would go to war if Russia sets foot in a NATO country, he assured that all members of the alliance would “follow article five”. This article specifies that if one of the countries is the victim of an armed attack, each of the other members will consider this as an attack against him and will act accordingly to help the attacked country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is very offended by the NATO reinforcement on the borders of his country. He opposed the expansion of NATO into countries that once belonged to the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but was seeking to join the transatlantic alliance of 30 countries as well as to move closer to the European Union. Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 after overthrowing the Kremlin-backed administration in Kiev.
On the front lines
Trudeau told leaders of three Baltic countries bordering Russia that Canada would stand with them to fight not only the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, but also its cyberattacks on their country.
“You are literally on the front lines of this conflict with Russia,” he said, on the sidelines of meetings with the leaders of three Baltic NATO allies, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered in its 13th day.
“Quite frankly, you lived not only with the military threat, not only with the history of the occupation […]but also, with the daily use of propaganda and disinformation to try to undermine democracy and the values you have,” he added.
“(It is) something that is currently being used as a weapon against Ukraine, but also being used very actively in all Western democracies. »
Trudeau made the remarks after meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, during an expanded teleconference session with their counterparts from Lithuania and Estonia.
Minister Anand joined Mr. Trudeau for the meeting as a group of cabinet ministers fan out across Europe during the Prime Minister’s whirlwind visit to four countries.
Trudeau says the continued show of unity among NATO allies and other democracies in support of Ukraine is a critical part of ending the crisis.
His arrival in Riga early on Tuesday came after a one-day visit to the UK for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Latvia’s Freedom Monument and the country’s Foreign Ministry building were both lit up in blue and yellow light in support of Ukraine upon Trudeau’s arrival. The entrance to the Latvian prime minister’s office was framed by two huge blue and yellow banners that stretched over several floors.
Mr. Kariņš told Mr. Trudeau that the Russian invasion had failed to “drive a wedge between Europe and North America, to drive a wedge between NATO partners”. Instead, he said, the opposite happened and there was a “coming together of minds”.
Trudeau told Baltic leaders that Canada has the third-largest population of Ukrainians in the world, after Ukraine and Russia. “So we are deeply, deeply troubled […] by this conflict in Ukraine. »
But he added that the impact of Russia’s actions is extraordinarily difficult for their citizens because they are so close to Russia.
– With information from Mike Blanchfield in Riga