FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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Russia’s Lavrov Stresses Importance of Six-Party Talks Format for North Korea

May 30, 2018 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Pyongyang on May 31, where he will meet with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. Speaking today at the annual Primakov Readings conference, Lavrov said he expects his visit will help him to understand North Korea’s position on the Korean Peninsula, and he anticipates that bilateral and regional matters will be discussed as well.

In comments reported by TASS, Lavrov also pointed out that the six-party mechanism—originally begun in 2003, and encompassing North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States—remains in effect and is very useful. He expressed Russia’s support for the developing relationship between North Korea and South Korea, and also the one between Pyongyang and Washington. He is hopeful, he said, that the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un “will not result in ultimata.”

The Russian minister emphasized, in this context, that denuclearization can’t be achieved in one step, but will rather require “step-by-step actions, consistency and patience.” In the final stages of negotiations, multilateral talks, involving all six countries, will become “inevitable,” he stressed. “The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be supported by the mechanisms ensuring peace and stability in Southeast Asia.”