ALI AL-SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait — Canada’s troops are eager to get back to work training Iraqi security forces but it won’t happen unless Canada is certain of their safety and Iraq invites them to return, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Monday. Champagne was in Kuwait with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a surprise visit to bring greetings and show appreciation for Canada’s troops at the Ali Al-salem Air Base. “It’s been a complex start to 2020.”Camp Canada is the centre for Operation Impact, a Canadian Armed Forces mission with operations in Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq. Champagne said the ongoing discussion about when they might return to Iraq is a “dynamic” situation. Trudeau and Champagne received a classified briefing upon arrival at the base, before Trudeau addressed the troops.

Source: National Post February 10, 2020 20:26 UTC