"A thing to note is that Russia has many times emphasized the need to abide by international law, calling for establishing a multipolar world order, based on respect and non-interference," Zakharova said. "We would also like to point out that neither Canada nor any other country has a monopoly on democracy, so we consider the Canadian top diplomat’s remarks about democracy in Russia to be highly inappropriate," she added.

According to the Russian diplomat, "it is no surprise that Canada and its allies have been praised as true democracies and the founders of the current international law system." "At the same time, Ms Freeland designated Russia as an antagonist," she went on to say. "Given the decline of western supremacy, in her words, there is a need to make some countries abide by international rules. We all have seen how they did it in the Middle East," Zakharova noted.

"The Canadian minister divided the world into the so-called liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes, which, according to her, are actively trying to undermine established democracies and suppress young nations seeking to join the democratic world, as well as to destroy the system of international rules through propaganda and espionage," the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said.

"I have a question here: when it became known a couple of years ago that US intelligence services had been tapping [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel’s phone, where Canadian ministers and officials were? And one more question: do they consider Germany to be a young nation and America a young democracy? Why has Ms Chrystia Freeland made no statements on this matter? She did not say anything like that at the event but we are still waiting," Zakharova said, adding that Russia would like to remind Freeland "of key characteristics of a true liberal democracy explained in the United Nations secretary general’s guidance note.".