Russian Ambassador to Canada Georgiy Mamedov gestures during a briefing in Ottawa on Monday. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Russia is not trying to make a power grab in the Arctic or to bully anyone, but simply wants to protect its sovereignty, the Russian ambassador to Canada said Monday.

A Kremlin document released last week shows Russia plans to create a special military force to protect its Arctic oil and gas interests.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon responded by saying, "Canada will not be bullied." Speaking on Friday to the International Relations Council on Arctic Sovereignty, Cannon said he will make Canada's position clear to the Russian foreign minister at a meeting this week.

But Ambassador Georgyi Mamedov suggested the Russian plan has been misinterpreted.

"Yes, we want to protect our sovereignty in the Arctic, but we are not out for any, you know, outlandish power grab," Mamedov told CBC News in an interview. "We don't want to bully anybody.

"And if you take the position of five major Arctic states, you will see that Russia and Canada have fewer problems between them than any other country," he said.

Mamedov maintained Russia needs to have some military forces in the region, just like the United States and Canada, saying there's nothing unusual about that.

Canada is among several countries — including Russia, the U.S. and a number of Nordic European states — that are seeking to assert jurisdiction in the disputed territory because it holds many untapped natural resources.

The dispute has intensified as shrinking polar ice has allowed the opening of new shipping lanes to those natural resources.