Russian delegation arrives in Beijing to hold negotiations on North Korean nuclear programme

A Russian delegation headed by deputy foreign minister Alexander Losyukov arrived in Beijing on Monday to take part in six-party negotiations on North Korean nuclear programme.

Alexander Losyukov said when the delegation arrived in the Chinese capital that "we regard the prospects of negotiations with cautious optimism and hope the process will continue." The main goal of the six-party negotiations in Beijing, the deputy minister stressed, is "to remove the nuclear weapons potential on the Korean peninsula." He pointed out that the positions of the sides and participants in the negotiations are ambiguous and "there are tough stances." During the two days before negotiations, Losyukov stated, the Russian delegation will hold meetings and exchange opinions with the delegations of China, North Korean, USA, Japan and South Korea.

Replying to the question on the guarantees to North Korea, Losyukov said that the main thing is to begin the process." According to him, the problem can be included in the programme of negotiations in the future. At the same time the deputy minister stressed that one of the reasons for the beginning of negotiation process in the six-party format was South Korean concern over its security.

Today, Alexander Losyukov will meet with Chinese deputy foreign minister Wang Yi.

The negotiations in Beijing to be held in the government premises for the guests in Diao Yu Tai will begin on August 27 and will be completed on August 29. Apart from the plenary sessions in the multilateral format, the participants will conduct a series of bilateral consultations.