The position of the Russian Embassy in Canada is that the local authorities deliberately lured the An-124 "Ruslan" transport aircraft into the country for its seizure. This was stated by the Russian Ambassador to Ottawa, Oleg Stepanov.
According to him, before taking concrete steps, the Russian side needs to wait for all legal possibilities regarding the aircraft to be exhausted in Canada.
Our principled position regarding unilateral confiscation, which has been repeatedly brought to the attention of the authorities in Ottawa, remains unchanged: the Canadian side deliberately lured the Volga-Dnepr aircraft here in order to seize it, and post factum concocted pseudo-grounds for arrest and seizure.
Stepanov clarified that the An-124 issue is still being considered in Canadian courts. However, the state is not involved in the process; the owner of "Ruslan," the airline Volga-Dnepr, is the party involved. The ambassador emphasized that Canada's actions are unacceptable and illegal, and the transport aircraft must be returned to its owner.
The "Ruslan" has been at Toronto Airport since the winter of 2022. During this time, the aircraft has accumulated parking debts of approximately 1.1 million US dollars.