The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has taken a swipe at the “impolite” foreign minister of Canada for his "ill-advised" remarks about Iran while Tehran and Kiev are engaged in talks about the January crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane.
Asked by reporters about the recent comments from Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne about the process of talks about the Ukrainian plane crash, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Saeed Khatibzadeh said at a press conference on Monday, “The ill-mannered language, the impolite phrases, and the very undiplomatic behavior of the minister of foreign affairs of Canada is not something you have seen behind closed doors.”
The spokesman then pointed to a meeting he had attended in Munich, also participated by Champagne and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, saying, “They (Canadians) are more polite behind the closed doors, they sit on two knees (Persian expression meaning polite behavior), and say what demonstrates a constant request, because they know that they have no legal position in this subject.”
“Unfortunately, statesmanship in the West has now turned into politics in order to garner a few votes from others. I am very, very deeply sorry that the Canadian nation has to witness such language from such a foreign minister,” Khatibzadeh deplored.
“We recommend that they (Canadian politicians) speak in the same way that they behave and talk behind the closed doors. The etiquette does not allow us to speak like the rude foreign minister of Canada,” he concluded.
The spokesperson was apparently responding to the recent comments from Champagne who said Canada holds the Iranian “regime” accountable.
Earlier in October, Champagne said that Ottawa will not be “intimidated ever by an Iranian regime who would not want us to get to the bottom of this,” referring to the process of talks over the Ukrainian plane crash.
The Kiev-bound UIA Boeing 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranian and Canadian citizens.
Iran said the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile due to human error.
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