MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Seoul wants relations with Moscow to go back to normal and is trying not to lose prospects for their resumption after the crisis in Ukraine is over, but the US bloc discipline is a constraining factor, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinovyev said.

"I think that Seoul wants the conflict in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, to be able to return to the time when things were ‘business as usual,’" he said in an interview with the RTVI.

When asked why Seoul doesn’t support China’s or African countries’ peace plans for Ukraine, the diplomat noted that on this matter, as well as on issues of relations with Moscow Seoul is constrained by the US bloc discipline. "All South Korea can do is to leave some room for maneuvering in bilateral relations with Russia, which are important for Seoul, and leave some prospect for their resumption when the crisis in Ukraine is over. And they are doing this," Zinovyev said.

"Being the United States’ military and political ally, South Korea is moving in its footsteps. Generally speaking, Korea is part of Western narrative, the Western world and they have little room for maneuvering. They cannot afford much on this matter (of support for peace initiatives of China and African countries - TASS)," the Russian diplomat noted, adding that when negotiating with non-Western countries, Seoul tends to evade Ukraine-related topics.

"The topic of Ukraine is not the central one for Seoul, unlike the situation in the region (in Northeastern Asia - TASS," he stressed.

According to the ambassador, despite its formal support for the so-called Zelensky peace formula, South Korea understands that this formula will not guarantee the cessation of the conflict.