Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov commented on the calls of Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie that representatives of her ministry should not be present at the celebration of Russia Day at the Russian Embassy, ​​explaining the position that officials cannot participate in the activities of a diplomatic mission, as “a manifestation of unprofessionalism “.

In a statement, he said: “The Embassy believes that diplomacy is made to work in times of crisis, and in such difficult times these relations serve, and statements by various representatives of Canadian official circles that it is absurd to communicate with Russia, but that they do not will communicate and the aggressive manner in which they state that none of their representatives will participate in any of our events, this indicates a lack of professionalism and professionalism.”

Stepanov said: “Attending ceremonial events is a common protocol practice, and I am sure that professional Canadian diplomats and Canadian Foreign Ministry experts understand that this is a general protocol, and mutual respect is needed, even when we disagree, and our embassy in Ottawa will continue to perform all their professional tasks, whether in terms of maintaining two-way communication channels, or in terms of communicating to the public the position of Canada regarding Russia, Russian citizens and the Russian leadership on what is happening in the world, including Ukraine,” he noted, “We work calmly, polite people, we do not pay attention to emotions and always emphasize. In dealing with Canadian civil servants and with the media, we are, first of all, the neighbors of the Arctic, the two largest countries in the world with similar concerns, challenges and tasks in terms of developing the national economy and in terms of ensuring the well-being of our two countries.”