OTTAWA – Russia’s ambassador to Canada refuses to deny that his country carries out spy activity in Canada.

Georgiy Mamedov said Russia conducts intelligence activities in other countries — although he didn’t specify which — but refused to give any details on what activities, in any, are conducted within Canada.

“I am neither denying or confirming (Russian espionage in Canada). I would be a fool…if I would confirm that we are doing as much,” he said during an appearance on The West Block with Tom Clark.

Mamedov was speaking publicly for the first time since charges were laid in January against a Canadian military intelligence officer accused of communicating protected government information.

The exact nature of the sensitive information Jeffrey Paul Delisle allegedly shared, and which foreign state may have benefited from it, has not been confirmed despite speculation that it was Russia.

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Mamedov was reluctant to dwell on the issue, maintaining he has little hands-on experience with any intelligence activities.

“My job is not spying. My job is to keep our relations in good shape,” he said. “And since the Cold War is over, I am no longer turned on by any kind of discussions of spying activity.”

Shortly after news broke of the charges laid against Delisle under the Security of Information Act, it was revealed that several officials from the Russian embassy had been expelled from Canada.

The implication at the time, on the part of many, was that the diplomats left because of the espionage case — another allegation Mamedov would neither confirm nor deny.

“Suffice it to say, I feel absolutely confident that the truth will come out at the end of the day,” he said. “I know it may take days or weeks or years, but my conscience is 100 per cent clear.”

It is not his place to comment on such issues, he said, noting Canadian officials weren’t commenting on the story either.

At that, the ambassador said he didn’t want to continue talking about the story, citing the “healthy and positive” relationship Canadian and Russian governments enjoy.

Implying that some media reports have been speculative and even false, Mamedov said the reporters behind those stories “are very lucky that diplomats in general, and Russian diplomats in particular are not in the habit of libel suits. If this answers your question to some extent, take it.”

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The Russian-Chinese veto on sanctions in Syria

More than 8,000 people have died in fighting in Syria in the year since the uprising against the country’s President Bashar al-Assad’s regime began.

The international community has done little about the situation but talk — with Russia acting as one of the biggest obstacles to foreign action in Syria.

When the United Nations Security Council came up with a resolution recently that demanded Assad step down, Russia and China vetoed it, effectively blocking international intervention.

Mamedov was unapologetic — despite the violence that has ensued and the lives that have been lost — refusing to abandon the Syrian dictator.

“I feel pretty comfortable with our decision not to support violent regime changes,” he said. “And if I were you, I would sit back and wonder why Al Qaida leaders are on your side in Syria, fighting the Assad regime.”

Mamedov indicated, however, that Russia could be open to a new Security Council resolution dealing with the problem, but that it would not consider anything including a call for Assad to step down.

Russian elections vs. Canadian elections

In spite of the demonstrations that swept Russia with citizens alleging massive voter fraud in Vladimir Putin’s success in the recent presidential election, Mamedov was adamant the results were accurate.

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“Trust me. The results were quite accurate, because they were basically forecast by many sociological services, not only in Russia, but in the West as well,” he said.

In fact, the ambassador said, irregularities in elections are commonplace, and compared the uprisings in Russia to what Canadians are currently experiencing with the ongoing robocall affair.

“You here, in this country, you have the robocall and irregularities,” he said. “So we’re the same human beings. We’re a work in progress, and I think it’s a huge progress.”

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