Canada decries official’s visit to Russian embassy event

(Reuters) – It was “unacceptable” for a Canadian official to have attended Russia Day celebrations at the country’s embassy in Canada, foreign affairs minister Melanie Joly said on Sunday.

A deputy protocol chief in Canada’s global affairs department, Yasemin Heinbecker, attended Friday’s event, along with representatives of Egypt, Pakistan and some African nations, the Globe and Mail newspaper said in a report.

“No Canadian representative should have attended the event hosted at the Russian embassy and no Canadian representative will attend this kind of event again,” Joly said in a Twitter post.

Joly also reiterated Canada’s support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Since the conflict began on Feb. 24, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 individuals and bodies with ties to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

(Reporting by Nishit Jogi in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)