MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Canada will not be able to replace Russia on the markets of energy and rare earth metals, Russia’s Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday.
"Canadians do not have export capacities, they will not be able to supply liquefied natural gas to Europe in the coming decade, there are no terminals, infrastructure is not developed due to the fact that there is a skirmish between gas companies and green energy, various projects are being blocked here by supporters of green energy, so it's a pretty tricky question," he said.
Stepanov admitted that Canada could increase its presence on the world market of mineral fertilizers market by a few percent. But it will be quite problematic for Ottawa to replace Russia and China in the market of rare earth metals and minerals.
"Now, as you know, the United States, Canada and their closest allies are actively discussing in the Western community how to isolate Russia and China and how to replace them in the market of rare earth metals and minerals critical for green energy - lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite, etc. further. But again, as far as Canada is concerned, everything here is only at the very entry level," he said.