SEOUL, May 19. /TASS/. Relations between Russia and South Korea should not be hostages to different geopolitical factors and pressure from third countries, State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin said on Tuesday at a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Jeong Ui-hwa.
"We proceed from the fact that our ties have their own specific and rather high independent value and should not be hostages to different geopolitical factors, let alone to pressure from third countries," Naryshkin said.
Russia appreciates South Korea’s position as Seoul does not give in to pressure or persuasion attempts from third countries, the speaker noted. South Korea "does not resort to such illegal measures that violate the norms of international law and WTO [World Trade Organization] rules as anti-Russian sanctions announced by US and several Western countries," Naryshkin added.
"I would like to stress that Russian leadership’s aspirations to expand cooperation in all spheres based on principles of friendship, trust and good neighborly relations, remains unchanged," the lawmaker noted. However, parliaments and governments should act in the interests of their own countries and their own peoples and withstand any pressure, the speaker stressed.
"That is how those countries that consider themselves constitutional should act," he concluded.