Russia鈥檚 Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov says the threat of Western sanctions in response to a military buildup along the Ukraine border carries no weight.
In an interview on 麻豆传媒 Channel鈥檚 Power Play with host Evan Solomon on Thursday, Stepanov said the possibility of new sanctions wouldn鈥檛 influence the country鈥檚 future actions.
鈥淪anctions never work and sanctions never will be able to work against such countries, such [a] nation as Russia. The attempts to use sanctions as a threat in order to make Russia do certain steps on the international area is just an illusion,鈥� he said.
鈥淎ctually, in Russia, and the Russian government, and I can tell you frankly, nobody cares about Western sanctions anymore鈥ecause they don鈥檛 work and they don鈥檛 bite, they don鈥檛 inflict any real influence or any practical outcome.鈥�
Canada, as well as other NATO allies, have stressed that any further incursion by Russian troops into Ukraine would lead to 鈥渟erious consequences鈥� and sanctions.
The Canadian government has been unclear as to what those sanctions would look like.
Global Affairs reports that Canada has targeted more than 440 individuals and entities related to Russia dating back to 2014 when its military forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
The U.S. Treasury Department levied new sanctions Thursday against four Ukrainian officials, including two current members of parliament who administration officials say are part of a Russian influence effort to set the pretext for further invasion of Ukraine.
Stepanov said Russia has 鈥渘o desire鈥� to invade Ukraine, adding that the amassing of some 100,000 troops along the border is part of 鈥渞egular exercises鈥� on its own territory.
鈥淩ussia can do anything on its own territory and of course we would never move our troops in our territory at the behest of foreign countries,鈥� he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that while he doesn鈥檛 believe Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a final decision about a full-scale attack, he said "my guess is he will move in."
The U.S. and the U.K. have started sending weapons to Ukraine for self-defence purposes, following up on one of the country鈥檚 key asks to NATO.
While in Ukraine this week, Canada鈥檚 Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada would make a decision about whether to send weapons in a 鈥渢imely manner.鈥�
As part of Operation UNIFIER, Canada sends a group of about 200 Canadian Armed Forces members to Ukraine every six months. The operation鈥檚 focus is to assist with training in coordination with the U.S. and other countries that provide that level of support.
On the mission, Stepanov said Russia has 鈥渕any concerns鈥� about it, but it鈥檚 a 鈥渟overeign decision鈥� by Canada.
Retired Canadian Maj.-Gen. David Fraser, a former commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, refuted Stepanov鈥檚 claims that sanctions don鈥檛 work in a later interview on 麻豆传媒 Channel鈥檚 Power Play.
鈥淚f you look at history, sanctions actually do work. Look what they鈥檝e done to Iran and let鈥檚 not forget that the Russian economy of $1.3 trillion GDP 鈥� Texas has a bigger economy, Canada has a bigger economy, so sanctions will work against Russia,鈥� he said.
Fraser said this is a political problem that requires a political solution.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing we can do militarily鈥e do matter on the political side of the house and we鈥檝e got to find a political solution to this and this is where sanctions [come in],鈥� he said.
With a file from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press.
