Belgian ambassador encourages Justin Trudeau to keep fighting ISIS

The Belgian ambassador to Canada is weighing in on the Liberal government's decision to pull its CF-18 fighter jets from the U.S.-ledbombing mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, urging all countries in the coalitionto continue their efforts to hammer the terrorist group with military force.

"By being, ourselves, part of the coalition with just six F-16 fighters we have been able to deliver," Raoul Delcordesaid in an interview withRosemary Barton on CBC News Network's Power & Politics Monday.

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"We are of the opinion that even with our limited meanswe should continue to do that and we would encourage our friends and allies to pursue this strategy until we resolve this issue not militarily, but diplomatically."

The country of 11 million is contributing six F-16 fighter jets operating from an air base in Jordan until at least June 2016, Delcorde said, the same number of jetsCanada has in the skies overISIS-held territory.

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In the wake of the attacks on Paris, Prime Minister JustinTrudeausaid in a news conference at the G20 summit in Turkey that Canada remains committed towithdrawing from the air campaign.

Trudeau says he has a mandate to bring CF-18s home from fight against ISIS

9 years ago

Duration 1:43

Trudeau speaks with reporters at the end of the G20 Summit in Turkey

In its place, Canada willrefocus onbeefing up its efforts to trainlocal ground troops, but there is no timeline for such a move.

About 70 Canadian special operations forces are currently trainingKurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq.

Canada's decision how to proceed

On CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Tuesday, the ambassador was askedif he was disappointed with Canada's decision to bring its fighter jets home.

"I would salute the commitment of Prime Minister Trudeau, as he mentioned yesterday, to support the coalition," he told host Robyn Bresnahan. "I leave to the wisdom of the prime minister of Canada the decision of how this support and by which means this support could be made."

Ottawa Morning10:03It's been called a breeding ground for terrorists.

And now that Belgian suburb is linked to the attacks on Paris. We ask the Belgian Ambassador how his country is dealing with the problem.

In an email to CBC News, the Belgian embassy emphasized that the overall strategyagainst ISIS is an integrated one that goes beyond bombing with fighter planes. Pursuingthis strategydoesn't necessarily require Canada's continued support for the air war.

Although Belgium will continue to be a part of the combat mission, Delcordeemphasized Monday the desire for a diplomatic solution to the fighting in Syria and Iraq.

"We are very much hoping to really move forward in terms of a diplomatic solution to this problem with an integration of the different actors."

Belgium a staging ground for Paris attacks

The Belgian ambassador also discussed the growing radicalization in his own country asBelgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud wasidentified as the presumed mastermind behind the attacks in Paris last Friday.

"We not only sympathize [with the French], but we're also very much involved in the situation," Delcordesaid, adding that his country is focusing not just on the "repression, but prevention" of radicalism.

When asked if Friday's attacks will change how Belgium and other European countries respond to the Syrian refugee crisis, Delcordesaid the two issues should not be conflated.

"The position of my government is that we should not confuse the situation of the asylum seekers and the fact that there is a risk of some kind of infiltration from a terrorist movement," he said.

"It's a big challenge we want to help, but of course we are now, with our European Union partners, developing a very thorough monitoring process."