Canada briefed one hour before U.S. airstrike on Syria
Canada was briefed about an hour before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles were launched at an airbase in Syria, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also spoke by phone Friday with the man responsible: President Donald Trump.
The two leaders discussed the need for a “political solution” to the Syria crisis, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a brief synopsis of the call.
Trudeau disclosed the discussions during a long-awaited statement Friday in the House of Commons following Thursday’s strike, Trump’s promised response to a gruesome chemical attack Monday in Syria that killed more than 80 civilians.
Trudeau said prior to the strikes taking place, U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis called Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who
then briefed the prime minister.
“This morning I spoke with the president directly and emphasized that Canada agrees that Assad’s repeated use of chemical weapons must not continue,” Trudeau said during question period. “In the face of such heinous war crimes, all civilized peoples must speak with one voice.”
The PMO’s readout of the call said the two leaders agreed “that the repugnant chemical attacks cannot be permitted to continue with impunity. They also committed to continuing to seek a political solution to end the crisis in Syria.”
The strike prompted an abrupt change in Trudeau’s position: after stopping short Thursday of directly blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad, he is now holding the Syrian government responsible for using chemical weapons against its own people.