Trump looms over Latvia mission
President Donald Trump will loom large when representatives from several NATO countries gather here this week to finalize plans for deployment of a Canadian-led battle group to Latvia starting in the spring.
But at least one senior official from the eastern European nation is counselling calm.
Canada agreed last year to lead one of four multinational NATO forces in eastern Europe as the military alliance sought to bolster its presence and provide a check on Russian aggression in the region.
But that was before the outspoken real-estate mogul and reality TV star, who has repeatedly described NATO as “obsolete” and promised new ties with Russia, became president.
“We should not rush to make any conclusions. But we don’t have any reasons to question American leadership,” Janis Garisons, Latvian state secretary for defence, said Friday in an interview with The Canadian Press. “And I’m convinced President Trump will continue with those things that were agreed to before.”
Even so, questions abound over how Trump will approach NATO and Russia. Many NATO allies are now wringing their hands over whether they can trust the U.S. to come to their aid should Russia attack.
Despite those concerns, Canada’s federal Liberal government has said it is pressing ahead with plans to deploy troops and armoured vehicles to Latvia, where they will serve as the core of a 1,000-strong battalion.
Representatives from Albania, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia, each of which is contributing troops and equipment to the Canadianled force, will travel to Ottawa this week to iron out the final details.
Garisons said the hope is for the first foreign troops to arrive by May, with all elements in place by July or August.
Canada is expected to send 450 soldiers as well as light armoured vehicles and other equipment from Edmonton in the first rotation, which will last about six months.
Officials have said Canada will continue to lead the mission in Latvia as long as required.
Garisons pointed to his meetings with U.S. officials during three days in Washington last week as well as recent comments by Trump’s picks for defence secretary and secretary of state as reasons for hope.
Retired general James Mattis, Trump’s pick for secretary of defence, told U.S. senators last week that Russia was trying to “break” NATO, before strongly defending the importance of the military alliance.
Oil tycoon Rex Tillerson, who has been nominated as secretary of state, was more guarded, but said Russia “poses a danger.”
Garisons said the fact the alliance is still deploying the battle groups to Latvia as well as Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, led by the U.K., Germany and the U.S., respectively, was also positive.