Lavrov says no 100% confidence in North Korea settlement success

Russian Politics & Diplomacy June 04, 2018, 15:53

Together with China Russia welcomes any steps aimed at overcoming mistrust and building conditions for moving towards the full denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula, Lavrov said

PRETORIA, June 4. /TASS/. Moscow hopes that the settlement process on the Korean Peninsula won’t be disrupted, although there are no 100% chances of success, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Monday after a meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Council.

Russia’s top diplomat noted that on Sunday during the meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi he discussed the North Korean nuclear issue, including contacts between the North and the South and also between Pyongyang and Washington.

"Together with China we welcome any steps aimed at overcoming mistrust, confrontational trends and building conditions for normalizing relations and moving towards the full denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula. And in broader terms, to agree on general principles and guarantees of peace, stability and security in Northeast Asia at the final stage of this process. I hope it won’t be disrupted, although there are no 100% chances," Lavrov said.

According to Lavrov, the development of relations between the two Koreas and between Pyongyang and Washington fits into the logics of a joint Russian-Chinese roadmap, which envisages "abandoning confrontational rhetoric, normalizing relations between all major players and collective and multilateral provision of guarantees of peace and stability in the region."

"We also discussed these processes today during our meeting. Our common stance in support of these tendencies is outlined in the final communique," Lavrov said.

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