Oleg Stepanov considers such a decision by Canada illegal
OTTAWA, June 10. /tass/. The decision of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to confiscate the Russian AN-124 and transfer it to Ukraine is illegal and is a common theft. This was announced to the TASS correspondent on Saturday by the Russian Ambassador in Ottawa Oleg Stepanov.
"It's completely illegal, it's theft, robbery. The Trudeau regime has shown that there is no rule of law in Canada," the diplomat said.
Commenting on Trudeau's statement about the supply of another batch of weapons to Kiev, Stepanov stressed that "any attempts to pump Ukraine with weapons only prolong the conflict and the torment of Ukrainian conscripts." "It is quite obvious that all the goals of the special military operation announced by the President of the Russian Federation will be fulfilled," he added.
As for the introduction of new sanctions against individuals and legal entities from the Russian Federation, which, according to the CTV channel, Trudeau also reported on Saturday, the Russian ambassador said that they do not work. "Sanctions do not work, neither sectoral nor personal. Our defendants perceive them with laughter. They have no impact on Russia," he said. At the same time, the diplomat noted that such actions by Ottawa only "cause irreparable damage to bilateral relations," but "the Trudeau cabinet does not think about it."
Earlier, Reuters reported that Trudeau, who is on an unannounced visit to Kiev, announced the confiscation by Canada of the Russian AN-124 and its transfer to Ukraine. In addition, the Prime Minister announced the allocation of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 373 million and the expansion of anti-Russian sanctions lists.
The Ruslan transport plane of the Russian Volga-Dnepr Airline with a cargo of covid-tests from China, which was chartered by the government of Canada, arrived in Toronto on February 27, 2022, two hours before the authorities of the North American country closed the skies for Russian aviation flights due to the situation in Ukraine. Despite this, the board was detained, and the crew was placed in a hotel. Later, the crew flew to Russia.