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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
April 2009

Vol. 14, No. 14 Week of April 05, 2009

The bear isn’t a bully: Ambassador

A verbal squabble between Canada and Russia is starting to resemble the physical showdowns between the two countries in ice hockey arenas.

It’s become so bad that Russia is effectively objecting to what it suggests is tantamount to political tripping, spearing, boarding and cross-checking.

After a succession of tirades from Canadian government leaders, Georgiy Mamedov, the Russian ambassador to Canada, finally blew his top March 29, denying that Russia has any ulterior motives in the Arctic and saying it does not plan any “outlandish power grab” for the region and its riches.

He said there is a bad aftertaste when Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Defense Minister Peter MacKay and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon accuse Russia of engaging in “aggressive behavior everywhere. … It doesn’t wash well with our politicians in Moscow. We do not want to bully anybody.”

Mamedov told a news conference he would be happy to see a treaty between Russia and Canada involving mutual notification of flights that approach each other’s airspace.

Harper and MacKay accused Russia of being provocative on the eve of President Barack Obama’s mid-February visit to Ottawa by flying two bombers close to Canada’s Arctic airspace.

Cannon followed that on March 27 by declaring that “Canada will not be bullied” in response to news reports that Russia is planning to establish a military force dedicated to protect its interests in the disputed Arctic region.

“It was kind of bizarre to witness such an outburst,” said Mamedov. “There was no intent to breach your airspace.”

Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov wrote in the National Post that the “aggressive tone” by Harper and MacKay is “weakening the good relationship between our two countries by demonizing Russia.”

Mamedov said Russia does not plan to militarize the Arctic, but it intends to have some military presence in the North, just like the United States and Canada.

He also said Russia will abide by the United Nations Law of the Sea convention, which will rule by 2013 on various sovereignty claims, adding Russia’s position is almost identical to Canada’s.

—Gary Park






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