(OTTAWA) Russia has summoned a senior Canadian diplomat to Moscow over Secretary of State Melanie Joly’s thoughts on “regime change.”
Posted at 10:51 am
Dylan Robertson The Canadian Press
According to state media, Moscow summoned Canadian chargé d’affaires Brian Ebel on Monday to tell him that Minister Joly’s comments were unacceptable.
Ms Joly had said earlier this month that Western sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have paid off, given the world’s impact “on society and how much we see a potential regime in Russia”.
When The Canadian Press asked Joly if Ottawa now wanted regime change in Moscow, she replied that Canada was focused on punishing the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, not the Russians living under his rule.
Moscow has warned it will further damage diplomatic ties after a trade slump and a spate of subpoenas from both sides on issues including Ottawa providing security for Russian diplomats and the Russian embassy posting messages on social media pointing to the Target LGBTQ+ community.
Russia also argues that meddling in internal affairs violates the 1961 Vienna Convention, which governs diplomatic relations.