Injured Russian diplomat Andrey Gorobets won't return to Canada

Russia’s Ambassador to Canada says the diplomat stabbed inside an Ottawa apartment building on Friday will not return to Canada out of fears for his safety.

​Georgiy Mamedov said Tuesday morning that Andrey Gorobets is recovering in a Moscow hospital from stab wounds.

• Kevin Martin, accused in Russian diplomat stabbing, granted bail
• Russian diplomat stabbed near embassy in Ottawa
• Russian ambassador to Canada unfazed by Canadian sanctions

He said he doesn’t know if the attack was because of ongoing global tensions with Russia over the situation in Ukraine, but he had doubts when Canadian authorities told him to pass along the message that it had nothing to do with Russian politics.

“I don’t trust the circumstances,” he said.

“I trust Canadian authorities, I love Canadian authorities, I respect Canadian authorities, but I won’t risk his life twice.”

Mamedov said he doesn’t know why Gorobets was attacked, saying the diplomat doesn’t speak English.

Ambassador warned of 'real danger'

Mamedov said Gorobets was at 400 Stewart Street, the address where he was found with stab wounds around 8:45 a.m. on Friday.

Kevin Martin, a 32-year-old Department of National Defence employee and Canadian Forces reservist, was living at that address.

He was granted bail on Monday after being charged with aggravated assault over the weekend.

The ambassador said he was warned “several days ago” by the RCMP that they were in real danger and they would take care of them, although he said the threats were non-specific.

He showed the media a poster recently put up in Toronto of the Russian consul-general with Russian text asking people to “smash his face.”

Memedov also spoke about Canadian sanctions against Russia over the situation in Crimea.