OTTAWA, February 23. /TASS/. Russia and Canada, despite the new package of economic sanctions from Ottawa, still leave open channels of communication through the Foreign Ministry, Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told TASS.
"The way I see it, the Canadian side is currently open, like we are, to continuing diplomatic contacts through the ministries of foreign affairs,"the ambassador said.
At the same time, the ambassador believes that Canadian economic sanctions will not have an impact on Russia's policy to ensure peace in Donbass. "Sanctions were predictable to the extent that they were presented by the Canadian side, for the most part, they follow the US sanctions policy,"he said. "Nevertheless, these measures will not have an impact on Russia's policy aimed at ensuring peace in Donbass,"he added.
The new package of Canadian economic sanctions should not affect the work of the Russian embassy and other Russian representations in Canada either, the diplomat noted.
Tensions escalated along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine on the morning of February 17. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) reported the heaviest shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in months. On February 18, the republics announced the evacuation of their residents to Russia.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees at the ceremony in the Kremlin on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Putin met with DPR and LPR leaders, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, and signed with them the treaties on friendship, cooperation, and mutual aid between Russia and both republics.