Statement by Ambassador David H. Wilkins

Ambassador David H. Wilkins was asked today in media interviews if the leak of a "confidential exchange" had led to "a crisis confidence in the U.S. government about the confidentiality with the government of Canada."

The Ambassador replied, "Well I can give you my personal view on that, and that is no. We have communications with [the Canadian] government all the time and we feel confident in doing that and we move on from this. It is unfortunate that this happened. I was glad to see the Canadian Embassy promptly issue a statement expressing regret.

I've been asked if I consider what happened "interference" in the U.S. elections process. The key point of distinction is, do I think what happened was intentional, a deliberate effort to interfere in the U.S. Elections process, and the answer is no. I do not think there was intentional interference.

It's important that we put this behind us now and concentrate on the special relationship between our two countries."