PRESS RELEASE
President Putin: Dialogue with North Korea, Stop the Threats
May 16, 2017 (EIRNS)—Before leaving Beijing yesterday at the conclusion of the Belt and Road Forum, President Putin answered questions from the press. On North Korea, which had just carried out a missile test, Putin made clear that Russia opposes any missile or nuclear tests, but put the blame for the situation squarely where it lies:
"...we understand that the recent global developments, in particular blatant violations of international law, invasion of foreign states, regime change and the like, are spurring this arms race,"
he stated. In this context, he advised,
"We should act comprehensively to strengthen the system of international guarantees with reliance on international law and the UN Charter."
He added:
"Dialogue with North Korea must be resumed; attempts to intimidate must stop, and a way to settle these matters peacefully, must be found."
Britain’s obviously destabilized Daily Mail headlines its coverage:
"Putin tells the West to ‘stop intimidating North Korea: Astonishing comment just hours after Kim Jong-un launches ‘nuclear capable’ missile."
President Putin also answered questions concerning the Belt and Road summit. He said that representatives of European big business told him,
"It is amazing to see how China is showing greater openness and commitment to an open economy, while the countries that we always looked to as the locomotives of open markets, are acting and talking in a way that frightens us."
Putin reported that, thanks to all that was accomplished at the forum,
"Furthermore—and this was not China’s initiative, but that of participants in today’s meeting—we epxressed the desire to make this a regular event. The President of China, Xi Jinping, who chaired the event, said that the next forum would take place in 2019."
Asked about Russian relations with China, Putin pointed to cooperation in "very promising high-tech areas such as space exploration and aircraft manufacturing." There is also economic cooperation, and "there is military-technical cooperation."
About the recent cyber attack, about which there have been "continued allegations of a Russian hand," Putin reviewed the damage in Russia, and then said,
"As for the source of this threat, I believe that Microsoft has named the culprits; it has pinned the blame on U.S. security agencies. Russia has nothing to do with this.... We believe that the genies that are let out of such bottles, especially genies that are created in secret laboratories, can ultimately turn back on their creators."
