COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Denmark Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen told the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Friday that he plans to reopen political dialogue with his counterparts in Russia.
The diplomat said Russia requested a top-level meeting and he intends to oblige.
"The direct dialogue has been frozen in regards to having meetings at various levels. But if we are to tell them our opinions, we need to have them in a room where they can listen to us. Therefore it is my intention to reopen an active dialogue," Jensen said, according to The Local.
On Twitter, Jensen posted, "Denmark needs dialogue with Russia in order to gain influence in regard to Ukraine, etc., and to cooperate on the Baltic Sea, among other things."
Jensen's overture to Russia was criticized by Denmark's former foreign minister, Martin Liegaard, and the ministry's spokesman, Nick Haekkerup, Sputnik News reported. Both oppose to the current government.
Russia and Denmark have had disputing claims over the North Pole. In the winter of 2014, Denmark presented a claim to the United Nations, arguing that the area surrounding the North Pole is connected to the continental shelf of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.
Earlier this month, Russia submitted its bid to the UN claiming vast territories in the Arctic Ocean. The Foreign Ministry said Moscow will claim 1.2 million square kilometers -- more than 463,000 square miles -- of the Arctic sea shelf.
Russia had also previously warned that the Danes made themselves a target of a potential nuclear attack if the country joins NATO's missile defense system.
"Even though Russia is a major threat, we can't find a crane large enough to move it. Russia is situated geographically where it is and that means that we need to deal with it," Jensen told Jyllands-Posten.
