MADRID-
Canada will send more troops to Latvia as part of a commitment to modernize and strengthen the NATO battlegroup it leads there, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.
The Canadian-led NATO battlegroup is made up of approximately 2,000 troops, including 700 Canadians, and is one of eight such units based in Eastern Europe designed to deter and defend against any Russian invasion.
Canada on Wednesday signed an agreement on the sidelines of a major NATO summit to transform the battle group into a brigade, which involves adding additional troops and equipment to boost its combat capability.
But while Defense Minister Anita Anand said at the time it was too early to confirm whether Canada would deploy more members of the Armed Forces, Trudeau pledged at a closing press conference on Thursday. to do just that.
The Prime Minister, however, refrained from giving an expected figure.
Trudeau’s presence at the NATO summit capped a nine-day trip that included previous stops in Rwanda and Germany for the Commonwealth and G7 heads of government meeting and had a strong focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
To that end, the Prime Minister announced more military equipment for Ukraine on Thursday, saying Canada was in the final stages of talks to provide Ukraine with up to 39 armored combat support vehicles for the help fight Russia.
He also pledged to donate six Canadian-made drone cameras to Ukraine, to complement the nearly 50 cameras sent earlier this year.
Trudeau said his government’s decision to send drone cameras and armored fighting vehicles was based on conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and ministers in his government who requested these types of military equipment.
“These exceptional Canadian-built, drone-integrated cameras have been incredibly helpful in protecting Ukrainians and repelling Russia’s illegal invasion,” Trudeau said. “The light armored vehicles we will send will also be extremely effective.”
The planned equipment purchase means Canada is on track to spend the $500 million budgeted in Budget 2022 for military support to Ukraine.
The Prime Minister also confirmed that a new NATO Center of Excellence for Climate Change and Security will be located in Montreal, and that Canada plans to host the North American office of a network of Centers of Excellence. innovation called the North Atlantic Defense Innovation Accelerator (DIANE).
“Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and horrific invasion of Ukraine demands that we all stand together,” Trudeau said. “It’s very, very clear from this meeting here in Madrid that we’ve all already committed to be here to support Ukraine because they’re not just fighting for their own turf, but for our democracies.”
The prime minister also said Canada will attend the G20 summit scheduled to take place in Bali in November, although Russian President Vladimir Putin is also attending.
Trudeau said he expects all G7 countries, which also include the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, to participate even if Russia remains a full member of the G20.
He says the conversations on the global economy that will take place at the G20 summit are “too important” and that Canada must counter the voice that Russia will have around this table.
“It’s too important that we’re here to counter the voice and the lies that Russia may be putting forward,” Trudeau said.
“There are still several months before that, and anything can happen.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 30, 2022
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