Russian Envoy to Canada Summoned to Foreign Affairs Ministry for Demarche Over Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov was summoned to the Global Affairs Canada for political demarche over the situation in Ukraine and particularly in Bucha.

“Today at 4PM [20:00 GMT] I was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a meeting with First Deputy Minister Martha Morgan. The Canadian side made a political demarche regarding what is happening in Ukraine and around it with a separate emphasis on the situation with Bucha,” Stepanov said. “The Canadian position was voiced, the essence of which was that Russia is committing illegal actions, allegedly violating international law, allegedly committing war crimes, allegedly committing crimes against humanity.”

“A whole range of accusations were laid out ... against our military, a demand was made to stop the military operation, withdraw troops and resolve this crisis through diplomatic negotiations,” he added.

In response, Stepanov said, he had outlined Russia’s position, its vision of the conflict, its genesis, and dismissed as unfounded accusations against Moscow of committing any actions that violate international law in Ukraine during a special military operation.

“I told in detail the chronology of what happened in Bucha with reference to the video evidence presented massively on the Internet and social networks of the peaceful withdrawal of our troops, the solemn joyful entry of the mayor of Bucha, who did not find any civilian casualties, the subsequent entry of the Nazi, nationalist Botsman and Safari battalions, according to publications their own participants, who publicly promised on camera to clean up this city,” he explained. “I also noted that all photographs of civilian victims wear a white armband on their sleeves, which is the identification of Russian troops in terms of 'friend or foe.'"

Stepanov continued to say that he pointed out the staging nature, technical inconsistencies that are visible to the specialist.

“Our concern was immediately aroused by the fact that the plot with Bucha was thrown into the political and international discourse in a coordinated manner, media and social networks at the same time,” the envoy said. “The blame was immediately placed on Russia, which demonstrates at least the unprofessionalism of Western governments. If they were really concerned about the human tragedy in Bucha, they could provide an opportunity for an impartial investigation involving qualified professionals.”

Stepanov shared that he conveyed to Morgan that in this situation, firstly, Russia cannot accept the arguments of the Canadian side, and secondly, it is regrettable that Western governments, including Canada, consciously or unwittingly support what he described as the false stories of the Kiev regime.

“In the context of Russian-Canadian relations, this means that even more tension will be added to them,” he stated. “As a result, we have to state deep disagreements in the assessments of the Ukrainian crisis in general and specifically the situation in Bucha.”

Stepanov noted that the Canadian side, following in line with its publicly expressed position, announced its intention to persecute the leadership of Russia, which it considers guilty of the Ukrainian crisis, and to go through this process to the end, including the use of all available international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court.

“No subjects regarding sanctions or the expulsion of diplomats from the Canadian side were touched upon,” Stepanov said. “In general, it was said that Russia would continue to pay for what the West and Canada consider unprovoked and unjustified, in violation of international law, aggression against Ukraine. Broad actions and serious consequences are promised without their specification.”

Stepanov added that the meeting lasted about half an hour, and they had the opportunity to exchange views in detail.

“With all our disagreement with each other's positions, there was an opportunity to convey in detail the positions of our capitals regarding what is happening. The conversation proceeded in a professional diplomatic manner,” he concluded.

Over the weekend, reports emerged of mass civilian killings in Bucha, a town near Kiev controlled until recently by the Russian forces. Kiev blamed the civilian deaths on the departed Russian forces. However, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia called the presented evidence a forgery and contended that radical Ukrainian forces have been committing abuses against civilians as well as prisoners of war.