Thank you, Mr. Kent. Yes, most definitely I'm pleased to respond.
First of all, if we go right back to 2014—and I'm not going to get into a long history lesson—we have two phases.
There was the nature of the interactions under the previous Conservative government. As a result of the former government's very strict policy of non-engagement with Russia as part of the overall sanctions packages and our response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and Ukraine, contacts were extremely limited. In fact, I know that the Russian ambassador here in Ottawa, who arrived, I think, in October 2014, did not meet officially with Global Affairs Canada's officials until the launching of the Liberal government's policy of re-engagement.
On the Moscow side of the equation, I was serving in Moscow as our deputy head of mission right up until last August. Prior to the initiation of the Liberal government's re-engagement policy, our contacts were limited to being summoned by the foreign ministry for them to complain about this or that. Needless to say, in those very limited opportunities, our messaging was always consistent on the absolute unacceptability of Russia's actions and on the importance of getting out of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Since the re-engagement announced by then Minister Dion at the end of last March, just over a year ago, our contacts have increased. We are on a path of re-engagement. I would say, however, that the underlying assessment of Russian behaviour and the need to deal with it has not changed materially. Rather, the change under the new government has been one of approach, the belief that it's precisely the countries you don't agree with that you most need to engage. It's in that spirit that we are speaking more actively with them.
The exchanges have increased. The messaging has remained consistent, certainly on our part, but it remains relatively modest. I should flag the fact that Minister Dion met with Minister Lavrov last July. There hasn't been any contact at that level since.
You asked about non-ministerial exchanges. At the officials' level, we've had a number of senior Global Affairs officials go to Moscow. Our political director, Mark Gwozdecky, was in Moscow last November to talk about international security issues and the Middle East. I think at the end of last week, a colleague of mine—who, if she were in town, would be speaking to you today on Kazakhstan and Ukraine—was in Moscow for bilateral discussions.
Our messaging has remained consistent and firm, and our contacts, while increased, are still a long way from those of a normalized relationship.