Moscow warns Ottawa of "collapse" of diplomatic relations due Russian plane seizure

The confiscation by the Canadian government of the Russian cargo plane, which has been at the Toronto airport since last year, may lead to the "collapse" of diplomatic relations between Russia and Canada.

This was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that the deputy head of the Canadian diplomatic mission in Russia was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to be told of the indignation at the intention to confiscate in Toronto the An-124 cargo aircraft owned by the sanctioned Russian company Volga-Dnepr and hand it over to Ukraine.

"The Canadian diplomat was told that the actions by Ottawa, which adheres to a Russophobic course, will have the most serious consequences for Russo-Canadian relations, which are on the verge of collapse due to the Justin Trudeau regime," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Russian diplomatic service emphasized that they see the seizure of the plane of the sanctioned company as a "cynical theft."

As reported, during a visit to Kyiv last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the confiscation by his government of the An-124 transport aircraft of the sanctioned Russian company Volga-Dnepr in Toronto and the launch of the process of its transfer to Ukraine, so that Russia never again uses it to support the war.

The plane arrived in Toronto on the eve of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was unable to depart before Canada closed its airspace to Russian traffic. Since then, the plane has remained grounded at Toronto International Airport, with its operator now owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Canada is the first among the G7 members to pass legislation that allows the government to confiscate the property of Russian sanctioned companies.