OTTAWA, February 1. /TASS/. Russia does not rule out that Canada could decide to downgrade the level of diplomatic relations, but Moscow will not initiate a similar move, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told TASS on Tuesday.
"Nothing can be excluded. If that happens, it will not be on our initiative, because <…> we never initiate moves that could damage the interests of countries or peoples," Stepanov assured. He also said that while keeping in mind what happened to its embassies in the Baltic states Russia would maintain communication with Canada as long as the North American country sticks to the spirit and principles of diplomacy.
According to Stepanov, the Russian embassy and general consulates in Canada have been playing the role of official channels of communication with Canadian government agencies and providing consular services to Russian nationals living in Canada, a mission that he said could be even more important than interstate diplomacy. Diplomatic relations have been maintained "for the strategic interests of countries and nations," the Russian envoy emphasized as he urged Russian diplomats to make Moscow’s position heard among the Canadians in the media, on social networks and through personal contacts.
"We should make our position clear, as ensuring predictability is a key task of any diplomacy," Stepanov explained.
On January 23, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Moscow was downgrading diplomatic ties with Estonia in response to a significant reduction in the number of Russian embassy personnel in Tallinn and amid an overall deterioration of relations. The Estonian ambassador was ordered to leave Moscow by February 7.
After that, the Russian ambassador in Riga, Mikhail Vanin, was summoned to the Latvian Foreign Ministry, where he was notified that the level of diplomatic relations with Russia would be downgraded starting from February 24. The republic explained that it made the move amid the Ukrainian crisis and in solidarity with Estonia and Lithuania. Vilnius recalled its ambassador from Moscow back last May.