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Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Russian lawmaker hails inter-Korean agreements as breakthrough

The State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee chairman said that "the international community should turn a page in its approach to North Korea"

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The results of the third inter-Korean summit are an important breakthrough, Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky told reporters on Wednesday.

"The inter-Korean talks can only be viewed as positive. I believe that these agreements mark a rather important achievement, if not a breakthrough. Now the international community should turn a page in its approach to North Korea," he said.

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According to the senior Russian lawmaker, the military agreement signed by the two Korean states "is a huge step towards peace and understanding on the Korean Peninsula." "Russia has always called for resolving the North Korea issue through political and diplomatic means. Now, both Pyongyang and Seoul are moving in that particular direction. The most important thing is that no one should try to hinder their movement in order to achieve political gains," Slutsky added.

He pointed out that "the results of the third inter-Korean talks also debunk the West’s favorite myth that Pyongyang poses a danger to regional development." "There is a need to continue dialogue with North Korean authorities. Moscow has never suspended dialogue. For our part, we plan to boost cooperation at the parliamentary level," Slutsky concluded.

An inter-Korean summit, the third this year and the fifth in history, is taking place in Pyongyang on September 18-20.

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