ST. PETERSBURG, May 25. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump’s flat refusal to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may have serious military and political consequences, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin informed TASS on Friday.
"I think that the cancellation of this meeting, if it doesn’t take place on June 12, or later, or in the near future, may have serious military and political consequences," the diplomat cautioned.
He noted that it is still unclear whether "the meeting was cancelled or delayed." Washington presented the situation in such a way that "the doors are open, if you knock in the right way or ask nicely." "It seems like the doors haven’t been shut, however, the manner of the refusal is rather brisk," Pankin continued.
"If we take into account how delicate and sensible the North Korean situation is, this may exacerbate tensions and set back relations to how they had been several months ago. [That is] when there were talks of worsening military and political tensions, carrying out strikes, estimating the number of victims and other apocalyptic scenarios, which, as we all know, couldn’t just remain local," the deputy foreign minister elaborated. "War in Korea and an attack on North Korea would definitely lead to a more serious regional - if not a global - conflict, which we have to avoid by any means possible."
On Thursday, Trump informed Kim Jong-un via letter of his refusal to participate in the summit which had planned to be held on June 12 in Singapore. The White House pinned the responsibility on North Korea, citing Pyongyang’s militaristic statements. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Pyongyang dismantled the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, one of the key objects of the North Korean nuclear program. In 2006-2017, six tests had been performed at the site, including the testing of a thermonuclear bomb.