WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2022) Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told Sputnik he regrets that current contacts between Moscow and Ottawa are now limited to the level of ambassadors and said it would be useful to have high-level contacts to solve matters of concern despite existing differences.
"I tell all Canadians here that for us, relations with Canada are valuable in themselves, as with any sovereign state. Canada is a very energetic voice within NATO on Ukrainian and European security issues," Stepanov said. "In this context, it would be natural and normal within the framework of normal diplomatic practice for Canada to be able to have a high-level channel of communication with Russia."
Stepanov underscored that at present, the contacts between the two nations are limited to the level of ambassadors in the two capitals and stressed that there is a complete lack of desire on the part of Canada to communicate with Russia at a higher level.
"This is regrettable. I tell them all that this is regretful, sad," he said. "If the Canadian side had a sincere desire to establish contact at a high or highest level with us, we would always be open to this."
The ambassador said such contacts would be helpful for Ottawa to better understand situations like the one in Ukraine.
"If Canada wants to form an independent opinion about what is happening in the broad understanding of Euro-Atlantic security now, why this escalation is happening, or it is concerned about the situation related to the intra-Ukrainian conflict in the east of Ukraine, then for me, as a Russian ambassador and career diplomat, it would be natural and correct if we had high-level direct contact with Canadians," he stated.
Stepanov also pointed out that he has repeatedly told the Canadian side - both publicly and privately - that Russian President Vladimir Putin never refuses contacts with foreign partners.
"If someone calls, he always picks up the phone, and (Canadian) Foreign Minister (Melanie) Joly has an open invitation to visit Moscow," he said. "We would be happy to exchange views with Canadians on all topics of interest or concern to them, even despite the obvious political differences between our capitals. This is how diplomacy works: if you have questions or problems, people sit down to talk in order to reach an understanding of positions."
