Canada’s new Prime Minister withdrawing jets from Syria, Iraq

PanARMENIAN.Net - Canadian Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau has confirmed he will withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the air strikes against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, BBC News reports.

He informed U.S. President Barack Obama of his decision hours after leading his Liberal Party to victory in the polls.

As part of his election campaign, Trudeau pledged to bring home the CF-18 fighter jets that were deployed to the region until March 2016.

He has not yet given a timescale.

Trudeau's Liberals swept to power in Monday, October 19 election, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.

Trudeau, an ex-high-school teacher, is the eldest son of late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

In his first telephone conversation with the U.S. president as Canada's prime minister-designate, Trudeau informed Barack Obama that he would make good on his election promise to withdraw the fighter jets.

"I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way that understands how important Canada has a role to play in the fight against ISIL (Islamic State), but he (Barack Obama) understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat mission," he told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, BBC says.

However, he said he would keep Canadian military trainers in northern Iraq, the AFP news agency reports.

Trudeau has also vowed to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year - a move previously rejected by his predecessor Stephen Harper, who took a much harder line on the issue.