Canadian troops of NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group attend meeting with Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand in Adazi, Latvia, on Feb. 3, 2022.INTS KALNINS/Reuters
Latvia’s top envoy in Ottawa says he’s optimistic that Canada will extend its NATO deployment to his country for another three years.
Karlis Eihenbaums says enhanced Canadian leadership would also be welcomed at NATO’s Multinational Division North, headquartered in Latvia, which co-ordinates Allied land forces deployed in Estonia and Latvia in the event of a crisis. The headquarters is commanded by a Danish major-general.
Latvians and Canadians are still waiting to hear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plans for extending and bolstering Canada’s presence in the Baltic state and on NATO’s eastern front.
On Wednesday, Britain announced it will double the size of its force in neighbouring Estonia as part of its NATO deployment and will send equipment, including tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, to the country amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month the United States announced it was sending an additional 3,000 troops to Poland, Romania and Germany.
Canada’s five-year commitment to lead a multinational NATO battle group in Latvia is currently slated to end in March, 2023. At roughly 600 soldiers, it’s currently Canada’s largest military deployment and is part of the broader North Atlantic Treaty Organization effort begun in 2017 to deter further Russian aggression after Moscow annexed Crimea.
A Canadian government official said it could be a week or more before Ottawa is in a position to announce any new commitments but said timing was also dependent on how events unfold over the coming days. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the official because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The official said Canada has proposed commitments to NATO but is waiting to determine what fits with the alliance’s plans. Some pledges are contingent offers of assets to be used in a crisis that would only be announced if they were called upon, the official said.
Mr. Trudeau’s mandate letter for Anita Anand, who took over the defence portfolio in November, directs her to extend Operation Reassurance, which includes the Latvian troop deployment, as well as a frigate and CF-18s that join air-policing duties over the three Baltic states with allies.
But it’s not clear what size and shape this extension will take. Ms. Anand said earlier this month she would be taking the matter to cabinet as Canada weighs increasing its military commitment on NATO’s eastern flank.
Daniel Minden, press secretary to Ms. Anand, said on Wednesday that the federal government is “currently examining ways in which Canada can reinforce its presence” in the Baltics. “Canada will continue to support NATO’s deterrence efforts in the region, as we work to protect the territorial integrity of our Baltic allies and defend the rules-based international order.”
Mr. Eihenbaums, whose term as Latvia’s ambassador to Canada ends this month, said Canadians should be proud of the role their country has played in the Baltics since 2017.
“We do not know what will happen in Ukraine, but the situation has already shown that we are facing a crisis in Europe’s security. Moscow has made it clear that it is ready to challenge the basic principles on which our security has been based for decades and to do so with the use of force,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is the new normal in Europe.”
He said he’s “quite hopeful” Canada will extend its deployment to Latvia for another three years. Canada recently spent $18.5-million on a new headquarters for Task Force Latvia, which just opened last summer in Riga.
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania – all former Soviet republics once ruled by Moscow – have been members of NATO since 2004, in contrast to Ukraine, which has seen Russia mass 140,000 troops on its border.
Germany, which leads a NATO battle group in Lithuania, also began bolstering its presence this week.
A German military aircraft carrying troop reinforcements landed in Lithuania on Monday. The A400M airplane carried around 70 soldiers of what is expected to grow to a 360-strong German deployment, which comes on top of existing NATO forces in the region. The new deployments include reconnaissance and artillery troops and medics from units throughout Germany, as well as around 100 howitzer and other vehicles.
NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels are expected this week to set in motion a plan that could establish four multinational battle groups in southeastern Europe in response to Russia’s military buildup in Ukraine.
With a report from Reuters
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