It’s time for Russian diplomats in Canada to go home
, but it has not even begun to take diplomatic action. A small band of demonstrators have positioned themselves outside the Russian embassy in Ottawa, but otherwise little else has changed on the diplomatic circuit. Canada must now close the Russian embassy to protest the country’s war crimes and invasion, offering selected asylum to any Russians courageous enough who want to defect.
Nor should we kid ourselves, as Global Affairs Canada might be wont to do, that maintaining normal relations serves some useful end. No Russian ambassador in Ottawa has the ear of the Putin gang. There are no back channels to call into play, no helpful fixer role to be played. No Canadian ambassador in Moscow has any entree into Russian decision-making circles. Western ambassadors in Moscow have been reduced to talking among themselves and watching out the windows.
Nor would we miss the Russian ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov. The ambassador penned an opinion piece for The Toronto Star in January laying out a glorious vision for Ukraine as a “neutral state,” free from internal conflict, living in peace with itself and its neighbours. He emphasized that, “Russia had no desire or intent to invade Ukraine or meddle by other means into its internal processes.” There was more of the official line, not worth repeating. It was all lies.
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