- Title: N orth Korean nuclear problem can't be solved by force - Russian ForMin
- Date: 5th July 2017
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 5, 2017) (REUTERS) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, AND ARAB LEAGUE SECRETARY-GENERAL, AHMED ABOUL GHEIT, AT NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "For Russia and China it is absolutely clear that any attempts to justify the military solution using the (U.N.) Security Council resolution as a pretext are not acceptable, and will lead to unpredictable consequences in the region which is neighbouring both Russia and China. The attempts to strangle North Korea economically are also unacceptable." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV, SAYING: "'The task set by the Security Council and which all the six-party talks participants agreed upon, I mean both Koreas and their neighbours, this task is aimed at denuclearisation of the entire Korean peninsula, and it cannot and should not be used as a disguise for attempts to change North Korea's regime. This is our common position." AUDIENCE MEDIA NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 19th July 2017 12:57
- Keywords: Russia China North Korea North Korean nuclear missiles UN Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016OFXHZB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Russia and China oppose any attempt to resolve the North Korean crisis by force or by strangling North Korea economically, the Russian foreign minister said on Wednesday (July 5), commenting on rising tensions in the region after Pyongyang's latest missile test.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow after talks with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Sergei Lavrov said "the task of the denuclearization of the entire Korean peninsula cannot and should not be used as a disguise for attempts to change North Korea's regime".
Russia and China joined diplomatic forces on Tuesday (July 4) and called on North Korea, South Korea and the United States to sign up to a Chinese de-escalation plan designed to defuse tensions around Pyongyang's missile programme.
The plan would see North Korea suspend its ballistic missile programme and the United States and South Korea simultaneously call a moratorium on large-scale missile exercises, both moves aimed at paving the way for multilateral talks.
The initiative was set out in a joint statement from the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries issued shortly after President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held wide-ranging talks in the Kremlin.
North Korea said on Tuesday it had successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time, which flew a trajectory that experts said could allow a weapon to hit the U.S. state of Alaska. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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