FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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Putin Praises Trump’s ‘Courage and Innovative Approach’ on North Korea

Sept. 15, 2018 (EIRNS)—As part of a Q&A session after his keynote address to the Vladivostok Eastern Economic Forum on Sept. 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked about North Korea.

“Indeed, President Trump has shown, as he said, an innovative approach to dealing with North Korea. I agree, this actually shows a certain amount of courage and an innovative approach, all right. But after all, North Korea was promised security guarantees in exchange for its denuclearization efforts.... What guarantees could be offered [to North Korea]? International guarantees. We have the format of six-party talks. And the international community can give such guarantees, including those secured by the presence of nuclear powers in these agreements. China and Russia are parties to these talks. If North Korea is satisfied with U.S. guarantees alone, that is also fine with us, but it is probably unlikely to happen, we have to be realistic. It seems to me that international guarantees would be more relevant in this case, and we can talk about it.... I spoke about President Trump’s actions without any skepticism or irony. I really think it is an innovative approach, and that he showed courage, political courage.”

Putin also focused on the role of joint development of the region.

“Of course, I cannot fail but to highlight once again trilateral projects in infrastructure, energy and other spheres involving Russia, the Republic of Korea, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Normalizing the situation around the Korean Peninsula is a key prerequisite for achieving progress on these projects. All in all, in order to ensure steady development, we need stability, peace and security in the Asia-Pacific Region. It is essential that we prevent new conflicts from emerging and resolve old ones in the spirit of dialogue.”