Canada called it important to maintain the presence of its ambassador in Russia

Flag on the facade of the Canadian Embassy in MoscowWASHINGTON, Feb. 26Canada considers it important to retain its ambassador to Russia at this stage, including to «clarify» the context of events taking place in Ukraine, Foreign Minister of the North American country Melanie Joly said on Friday. «It is important for Canada at this stage to have an ambassador in Russia. Important so that the Russian people understand what is happening in Ukraine now … it is important that we keep in touch with them,» Joly said during a press conference of members of the Canadian government, which was broadcast by federal TV channels.The British Foreign Office summoned the Belarusian ambassador to London. Canada imposed sanctions against Russia this week because of the situation in Ukraine, and on Friday announced its intention to introduce additional restrictions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that he decided on a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. In a televised address to the Russians, he said that the circumstances «require decisive and immediate action from us, the people's republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help.» The President stated that the entire responsibility for the bloodshed would be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine, and called on the Ukrainian military not to follow the criminal orders of the Ukrainian authorities, to lay down their arms and go home. attacks on the cities of Ukraine: military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields and aviation are disabled by high-precision weapons. The Ministry assured that the civilian population is not in danger.