Talks between the Iraqi government and representatives of its Kurdish population in the north are “going well,” says Canada’s defence minister, but Canada has no plans to take sides in the internal conflict that has flared since the retreat of the so-called Islamic State.
“When I was at NATO on the margins … all the defence ministers were given an update and we were told that the discussions were actually going well, so that’s good to hear,” Harjit Sajjan told The West Block‘s Vassy Kapelos in Halifax this weekend.
The minister and hundreds of other delegates — including at least one from the Kurdistan Regional Government — were gathering in Nova Scotia for the ninth annual Halifax International Security Forum.
It’s unclear what specific talks might be underway in Iraq. As late as Thursday, a representative for the Kurdish Democratic Party told the Associated Press that the Kurds had been trying to “start a dialogue with the central government” from the Kurdish capital region, but had thus far failed.
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There have, however, also been signs of a rapprochement this week. Kurdish parliamentarians who had been boycotting sittings of the legislature since the Iraqi government refused to recognize the legitimacy of a Kurdish independence referendum in late September have returned to Baghdad.
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Canada has refused to take sides in the conflict, which escalated to violence in October. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also ignored calls for Canada to act as a mediator.
“For us to be able to take any sides here would be inappropriate,” Sajjan told Kapelos.
“We want to encourage unity … the last thing we want is conditions to be set again for a group like (IS) to be reconstituted, or a new version of it created.”
Canada has, in the interim, suspended the operations of a team of special forces soldiers stationed in northern Iraq until the two sides can achieve a resolution. Sajjan offered no timeline for when that specific mission might resume, or how long it might be before Canada decides to simply bring the soldiers home.
“Anytime the situation changes I get briefed up,” he said. “We’re monitoring the situation.”
Peacekeeping mission before end of mandate
Sajjan was also asked about the Canadian government’s recent peacekeeping announcement, which did not include commitments to any specific country or United Nations mission.
Instead, Ottawa is committed to deploying up to 200 rapid-response ground troops and a separate cohort of military trainers for future UN peacekeeping operations. They could be deployed for periods of up to 12 months on an as-needed basis.
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In addition to the manpower, the military is promising to provide Canadian tactical aircraft, cargo planes and helicopters.
Sajjan said he does not know when he’ll be able to confirm where those troops and resources are going, but they will be deployed before the end of the government’s current mandate, in 2019.
“We have to look at the timelines, we have to look at the type of effect we can have, and we’ll have to work with the UN. But I can’t give you a timeline exactly,” the minister said. “We will have people deployed, Canadians expect us to get involved … but we want to make sure we get this right.”
– Watch the full interview with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan above
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