This is stated in a statement on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“We emphasize that on the Russian side, sanctions of this kind are imposed involuntarily and exclusively in response to the hostile actions of the Canadian leadership,” the ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry noted that Russia is striving for mutually respectful and good-neighbourly relations with the Canadian people, urging the authorities in Ottawa to abandon the Russophobic course.
On April 21, it became known that Russia was imposing retaliatory sanctions on 61 Canadian citizens.
These individuals included government officials, active and retired military personnel, experts and media representatives involved in the Russophobic course of the ruling regime in Canada.