As Trump and Putin prepare to meet, Trudeau set to visit troops deterring Russia in Latvia

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Canadian troops in Latvia before attending the NATO summit in Brussels next week.

The Prime Minister’s Office says the two-day visit, from July 9 to 10, will be an opportunity for Trudeau to reaffirm Canada’s commitment to the NATO alliance and Euro-Atlantic security ahead of the summit on July 11 and 12.

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The Canadian-led multinational NATO battle group was established in Latvia last year as the alliance’s response to Russia’s surprise annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of eastern Ukraine.

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Canada’s leadership of the battle group represents Canada’s largest sustained military presence in Europe in over a decade.

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Trudeau, who will meet in Riga with Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and President Raimonds Vejonis, will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada’s chief of the defence staff.

The visit will mark the first-ever bilateral visit to Latvia by a Canadian prime minister.