Defence minister hails Iraq’s approval of expanded NATO mission
Ottawa: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was hailing Thursday the Iraqi government’s decision to let NATO stay in the country even as many Canadian troops remained on lockdown.
The minister’s comments followed news the Iraqi government had agreed to let NATO’S Canada-led training mission continue, weeks after the country’s parliament passed a resolution demanding all foreign troops leave.
The non-binding demand followed the U.S. killing of Iranian Maj.-gen. Qassem Soleimani near the Baghdad airport. It cast uncertainty over the future of not only the NATO mission, but the entire international effort against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“As you know, we from the beginning stated that we wanted a resumption of the mission as quickly as possible because we felt that was extremely important,” Sajjan told The Canadian Press in an interview from Brussels. “This is obviously a positive development.”
Yet questions abound as to what comes next, including when the NATO mission will resume. The mission was suspended due to security concerns after Soleimani’s death, with some Canadian troops moved to neighbouring Kuwait.
Sajjan suggested the mission remains suspended over security worries and political uncertainty, and that discussions are underway to determine when the training mission, which includes 250 Canadian soldiers, can resume.
In announcing the Iraqi government’s decision on Thursday, NATO Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg also revealed that the alliance had agreed to expand its efforts in Iraq. The expansion follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for NATO to do more in the Middle East.
While the plan now is to move hundreds of trainers working with the U.s.-led coalition fighting ISIL over to the Canadian-led NATO mission, Stoltenberg and Sajjan were extremely vague on details as discussions among the various parties are still ongoing. Unlike the U.s.-led coalition mission, NATO’S training effort does not involve combat.
The Canadian Press