MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. The situation around the Korean Peninsula is balancing on a dangerous brink through the fault of the collective West, and all responsibility for the deadlock over settlement issues rests squarely on Washington, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
The way she sees it, "military activities by the United States and its allies" in Northeast Asia is increasing, which poses a threat to stability in the region.
"The collective West does not give up hope to shake loose the socio-political system of the DPRK and forces the authorities of that country to take the necessary steps to protect national security. Washington has chosen the path of confrontation instead of a dialogue and it bears full responsibility for the impasse where the settlement process around the Korean Peninsula has found itself. As a result, the situation is balancing on a dangerous edge," she emphasized.
At the same time, as Zakharova promised, Russia will continue to further press for initiatives aimed at promoting calm and stability near its eastern borders.
"If all members of the UN Security Council are really sincerely interested in defusing tensions, probably it would be right to say that an effective step in this direction could be the modification of the sanctions regime against the DPRK, and the sooner the better. Russia has already suggested establishing a specific chronological framework for it with a view to revising a number of measures, including their total cancellation," Zakharova concluded.