Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov condemned the voting of the former "Axis" countries, including Germany and Japan, against the Russian resolution at the General Assembly on combating the glorification of Nazism.

The ambassador questioned the sincerity of these countries' "repentance" regarding their crimes during World War II, adding: "Germany and Japan opposed this, the descendants of the main Axis countries that lost World War II, for decades, wanted to wash away their dark past, they wanted the whole world to forget the war crimes they committed and crimes against humanity, and now they have cast off their masks."

The Russian diplomat also pointed out that such "blasphemous behavior harms the memory of the victims of German Nazism and Japanese militarism." According to Stepanov, it similarly violates the United Nations Charter, as it "contradicts the commitments of these countries" upon joining the organization to adhere to its goals and principles.

In the same context, the Russian ambassador said: "The question arises, how sincere is the remorse of the West Germans, whom Russia allowed to unify Germany in 1990, about their responsibility for the World War? Not to mention the Japanese, who still have not admitted guilt for the aggression and brutal atrocities, and we do not only desire complete agreement with the results of World War II, but almost every year at the governmental level, the war criminals' remembrance is revived at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo."

The head of the Russian diplomatic mission also expressed confidence that such behavior from the two countries can only be achieved with the complicity of the United States, under whose "multi-layered covert occupation" Tokyo and Berlin still remain.