Canada and Russia plan to hold a bilateral conference on the Arctic in November. This was announced Thursday by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Pamela Goldsmith Jones, according to the TASS news agency.

Not giving scientists from both countries an opportunity to talk to one another is irrational. The Canadian government wants to be rational. Canada would like to restore ties with Russia, because that serves the interests of Canadians as well as Russians, Ms. Goldsmith Jones was reported as saying. She reiterated, however, that Ottawa still did not agree with Moscow's actions in Syria and Ukraine.

The agency reported that the conference is scheduled to take place at Carleton University in Ottawa in November. An exact date has not yet been given.