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North Korean nuclear crisis settlement continues under Russian-Chinese plan, says diplomat

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov also welcomed "close cooperation" between Moscow and Seoul on settling the crisis

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS photohost agency

SEOUL, December 18. /TASS/. The settlement of the North Korean nuclear crisis is underway in line with the joint Russian-Chinese plan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said at the consultations in Seoul with South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon.

The Russian diplomat welcomed "close cooperation" between Moscow and Seoul on settling the Korean Peninsula crisis and solving a whole range of issues, including the nuclear problem. The approaches of Russia and South Korea are very close and their joint effort on promoting them will allow achieving serious and significant results, he noted.

"This year seems to be successful here. Thanks to joining efforts of all interested parties military tensions on the Korean Peninsula were reduced and inter-Korean cooperation was resumed and dialogue between the US and North Korea was launched. This entire situation developed in the framework of the roadmap on the Korean settlement, which Russia put forward jointly with China to settle the current problems," Morgulov stressed.

Russia welcomes the steps by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the South Korean government, which were taken to achieve a common goal - peace and security on the nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the diplomat noted.

"I hope today we will discuss these and many other issues, including the outcome of our talks with other partners," Morgulov said, voicing hope that today’s meeting will be fruitful for both sides.

In 2017, Russia and China put forward a roadmap on resolving the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The roadmap envisages halting North Korea's nuclear missile activities in exchange for decreasing the number of joint US-South Korean military drills. The roadmap also envisages bilateral talks between Pyongyang and Washington, followed by full-format multilateral negotiations with participation of all interested parties.

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