Moscow hails upcoming Pyongyang’s contacts with Seoul, Washington - Lavrov

MOSCOW, April 10. /TASS/. Russia welcomes gradual normalization of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the upcoming Pyongyang’s contacts with Seoul and Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his North Korean counterpart on Tuesday. "We discussed rather in detail the situation around the Korean Peninsula’s nuclear issue," Lavrov said. "As for the Russian side, we confirmed that we welcome the gradual normalization of the situation, and that mutual threats have ended, and there is readiness for contacts between two Koreas and also between North Korea and the United States." Russia’s top diplomat noted that "the real development of events on the ground" is in line with the roadmap outlined by Russia and China last year to deescalate the situation and create conditions for talks. "It’s clear that the result of this process should be a multilateral agreement between all countries of Northeast Asia on ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, including denuclearization of this important region of the world as leaders of North Korea and South Korea said," Lavrov stressed. South Korea and the US are currently getting ready for the summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un scheduled for April and May. The meeting between the South and North Korean leaders, the third ever, will take place on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom, while the date and place of talks between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump are unknown yet. Read more