Despite the recent announcements out of Russia stating that the country plans on sending military troops to the Arctic in a bid to protect its pie of the Arctic pie, Russian diplomats are stressing that their country is not trying to bully or intimidate anyone.

Georgiy Mamedov, Russia’s envoy to Canada, wanted to clear up any confusion or misgiving about Russia’s stance on the Arctic. “We are not out for any outlandish power grab. We do not want to bully anybody,” he told a group that had gathered for his press conference Monday close to Parliament Hill in Ottawa. 

This clarification on Russia’s position is the latest in a verbal go between with Russia and Canada.  Last week Russia announced that it would be mobilizing troops to the Arctic region to protect its claimed territory which resulted in Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon assuring Canadians that, “Canada will not be bullied.”  

This verbal set to came on the heals of Canadian Defense Minister Peter Mackay’s announcement last month that Canada had to send a pair of fighter jets to confront two of Russia’s Tupolev 95 bombers that were encroaching on Canada’s Arctic airspace.  The Russian bombers were seen as an outright act of aggression against Canada and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, when discussing the confrontation, said that Canada and the world should be cautious of the “increasingly aggressive Russian actions around the globe and Russian intrusions into our airspace.”

In last week’s announcement Russia came across a bit hostile despite the fact that the country agreed to abide by any international laws or treaties when it came to the Arctic.  This week Mamedov was much softer and collaborative in his discussion of the Arctic, assuring that out of the Arctic five, Canada and Russia should have the best relationship.

“If you take the position of five major Arctic states, you will see that Russia and Canada have fewer problems between them than any other country.”