SEOUL, June 6. /TASS/. By commending South Korea for refusing to directly send weapons to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin in effect "extended an olive branch" to the country, the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo said, commenting on a TASS-organized meeting of the Russian leader with the heads of international news agencies.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin showed a rather conciliatory stance toward South Korea, he extended [it] an olive branch at a meeting with the world's leading media outlets," the newspaper said.
"Just as with Italy, I can say that we see that there is no Russophobic attitude in the work of the South Korean leadership. There are no direct deliveries of any weapons to the conflict zone, and we highly appreciate this," Putin said at the meeting.
However, according to journalists, the Russian leader "expressed dissatisfaction" with Seoul's involvement in sanctions against Russia and support for Kiev in ways other than weapons supplies, saying that South Korea has created certain problems for cooperation in various areas. Nevertheless, he expressed hope for better relations in the future, the article pointed out.
The newspaper notes that the Russian president's approach to South Korea differed from his "cold reaction" to the issue of relations with Japan. Putin said that Russian-Japanese dialogue might be possible after Tokyo changes its position on Ukraine.