North Korea problem cannot be solved without Russia

The solution of the North Korea is impossible without taking into consideration the interests of Russia. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said this at a press conference in Moscow.

He refuted the assertions of some mass media that the United States was allegedly trying to remove Russia from the process of settling the North Korean problem. "Only a person who does not know the situation at all can say that Russia in some way or another is being forced out from the settlement process," underscored Losyukov.

According to him, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is so complicated today that it cannot be settled without the participation of Russia. "And nobody intends to do it," he pointed out. In particular, he referred to the recent statement by the White House press service that the United States is interested in including Russia in the solution of the North Korean problem.

Losyukov pointed out that "today a complicated game in many spheres is being played with regard to the Korean problem." "The situation is very complicated and very dangerous because there can be very grave consequences of its negative development and also because no simple solutions of this problem can be seen," said the deputy minister. According to him, "unfortunately, there is a tendency towards its deterioration." So far, the sides are very far from a common understanding of the problem. First of all, this concerns the positions of the United States and North Korea but, Losyukov noted, "all the countries, involved in this or another way in the situation - the USA, North and South Koreas, Japan, China and Russia - are interested in resolving the problem peacefully." "The final task has been set by all the countries in one and the same way - to de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula," pointed out Alexander Losyukov.

He underscored that North Korea was interested in preserving the present regime in the country, in guarantees of its security, and will try to achieve this by all means. "This fact should be taken into consideration," underscored the deputy minister. He noted that Russia stands for negotiations on this problem and "that any format in this case will be effective and acceptable." In particular, Russia supports the efforts of China to organise a tripartite meeting involving Beijing, Washington and Pyongyang. "The negotiations in this format would be a very good development of the situation. If the number of the participants increases, then other variants are possible," noted Alexander Losyukov.