MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. The United Nations Security Council has been unable to broker a political compromise between the US and North Korea, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Chinese and Japanese media.
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"What needs to be done to lay the groundwork for finding a political compromise, particularly between Pyongyang and Washington is a separate question," he said. "The United Nations Security Council does not seem to be seizing every opportunity in order to achieve this goal," Ryabkov added.
The senior Russian diplomat pointed out that "the UN Security Council’s activities lack a key ingredient - the political one." "This is the reason why sanctions alone will not lead anywhere, they cannot change the reality, as the Iranian issue already proved - whatever our opponents say, it was not sanctions that helped move forward the stalled negotiation process but the Iranian and US authorities’ willingness to find a compromise," Ryabkov stressed.
He also noted that Russia and China had issued "a joint statement on July 4, putting forward a phased plan, or the so-called double-freeze plan." According to Raybkov, the implementation of the plan "could at least stabilize the situation, ensure the status quo and prevent tensions from escalating, while after that a new search for political solutions could be launched."