OTTAWA - Canada has won the support of Serbia in its bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2020, even though Canada went to war against it 17 years ago, says the country's foreign minister.
The Security Council campaign is a key pillar of the Trudeau government's foreign policy and the international politicking is in the early stages. But it is clearly under way.
The public endorsement by a European country, albeit a small one, is important.
Canada is running in the 2019 election for a two-year term starting the following year.
Canada lost its last Security Council bid in 2010 to Portugal -- a loss that was at least partially attributable to what many analysts viewed as the solidarity of the European countries voting in a bloc for one of their own.
Canada competes in the Western European and Others Group of the UN, and will face stiff competition in 2019 from Ireland and Norway.
