STOCKHOLM, July 11. /TASS/. Vladimir Barbin, the Russian ambassador to Denmark, has said Denmark tried hard to ruin relations with Russia so it should make the first step in rebuilding them.

He made the statement in written answers to questions from the TV2 television channel which weren’t published by the channel, so they were released on the embassy’s website on Monday.

"Denmark has done everything to destroy bilateral relations. In this regard, Copenhagen should take the initiative in restoring them," he said.

Barbin also commented on the situation in Ukraine. He said that "the doctrinal criteria for Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons can in no way be applied to the events in Ukraine."

According to the diplomat, the goals and objectives of the special military operation in Ukraine - the elimination of threats to Russia, the protection of the population of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine - will be achieved. At the same time, the change of the political elite is not one of the goals.

The ambassador also reiterated that Russia wasn’t interested in a conflict with Ukraine. "It sought the fulfillment of the Minsk agreements by Kiev, as well as the non-expansion of NATO, until the last day the Russian Federation tried to reach mutual agreements with NATO to ensure mutual security. To no effect. The West adhered to other guidelines and sought to use Ukraine as a weapon to contain Russia," he said.

Barbin said that Russia is not at war and is not waging war against the Ukrainian people. "At the same time, there is a lot of evidence that the Ukrainian armed forces are using the civilian population of their country as a human shield, this is a crime. People who hide in basements inevitably ask questions about why Vladimir Zelensky, who was elected under the slogans of establishing peace in Donbass, did nothing to achieve it. On the contrary, his policies and actions led to the current of events," the ambassador said.

The ambassador also said that "the West is encouraging Kiev in every possible way to seek an exclusively military solution to the conflict in Ukraine, dooming the civilian population to suffering more casualties."

TV2 requested a written interview on June 23, comments were sent to the editorial office on June 30. As of July 11, the interview had not been published on the channel's website.