TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2021) Ottawa maintains bilateral relations with countries that do not have a diplomatic presence in Canada, the country's foreign ministry told Sputnik, following an announcement that Minsk is closing its embassy in the Canadian capital.
The Belarusian embassy in Canada announced in a statement earlier on Tuesday that it will cease operations in Ottawa on September 1.
"Canada maintains bilateral relations with countries that do not have a physical diplomatic mission in Canada, including many countries with missions based in the United States of America," a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said.
Global Affairs Canada would not say whether any considerations are being given about a meeting between Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei.
Canada does not maintain a diplomatic presence in Belarus.
The Belarusian embassy did not provide a reason for the decision in its statement, only saying that consular service would be halted on July 10 and consular functions of the diplomatic mission will be performed by the country's consulate in New York thereafter.
Belarus' withdrawal from Canada comes a day after Minsk and Riga expelled the other's ambassadors and diplomatic staff, following a provocation in which Riga Mayor Martins Stakis replaced the Belarusian state flag with a red-white flag used by the country's opposition.
Belarus' exit comes amid Ottawa's disgruntlement with the Belarusian government over the Ryanair airplane emergency landing incident in Minsk.
Canada's prime minister called Sunday's incident, in which a Ryanair plane en route from Athens to Vilnius had to make an emergency landing in Minsk on Sunday over a false bomb threat, an "attack" on democracy and freedom of the press.
Ottawa has since issued a warning to Canadian air operators advising them against flying in Belarusian airspace following the incident and called for the release of Roman Protasevich, the founder of a Telegram channel that Minsk has designated as an extremist entity.
